Fuzzies
by Veriea Fornnan
Summary: Don't let the title throw you this is an AvP fic…with a twist. When a Yautja hunting party are on a tropical planet seeded with the ultimate prey, they don't anticipate running in to another form of sentient, space-faring life and something interesting...
1. On the Run

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

A/N: Some of you will recognize the character anyway so I'll say it now; this is my second 'Veriea fic'. Thought she has the same name and much of the same personality and abilities, she has no relation to her counter part in my _Animal Instincts_ story. She is essentially the same character but let's just say this is who she would become under different circumstances.

This is a cross-over with my original series 'Heritage'. Veriea and certain other characters are from my 'Heritage' universe which will be posted at some point after I finished writing them.

**A/N 2: I am re-vamping this story, re-posting all chapters in preparation for more updates. I apologize for my long absence, life has gotten in the way for the last two years. I can't guarantee that updates will be regular but they should be more frequent, even if not up to my previous schedule. I strongly suggest a re-read as along with the re-posts I will be fixing up things and make some small changes. Thank you to every one for sticking with me this long.  
**

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 1 – On the Run

Tre'e'cha'ka was very pleased with the hunt so far.

Of the 10 kainde amedha that had been seeded on the planet 7 had already fallen, each at the hands of one of the now Young Bloods and none of them had even been injured in the process. If they could return with the entire group after killing the remaining 3 it would be a great honor for the Gaun-Thwei Clan, for it was not often that not even one Un-Blood was lost on the Chiva.

The young bloods shifted restlessly on their chosen perches, eager to move on and prove themselves once more. Beside him his second and third in command, G'na'e'cha and K'ar'e'cha, trilled softly in amusement.

"We should get moving or these young bloods are going to explode from anticipation." G'na'e'cha chuckled.

"Soon enough." The clan leader replied. "They could stand to learn a little patience."

"Do you hear that?" K'ar'e'cha asked. "Listen."

The sounds were faint but distinct; something was crashing through the jungle, approaching their location fast.

"The hard meats wouldn't be that loud but tell the young bloods to be alert anyway." Tre'e'cha'ka instructed. As the crashing sounds drew closer everyone was tense and K'ar'e'cha was the fist to spot it enter the clearing beneath them.

The creature was running on two legs, stumbling every so often as if it were having trouble keeping balance and kept looking over its shoulder; the sounds of something larger approaching confirmed that it was running from something. Tre'e'cha'ka magnified the image with his hunting mask and observed that it resembled a creature he'd once seen while hunting on the ooman planet, though that creature had moved on four legs and had been far smaller that this one. It also seemed that its hands were bound together.

"I thought this planet didn't have any sentient life?" K'ar'e'cha asked.

"According to our scout reports, it doesn't" The older yautja answered.

Suddenly, a large hovering vehicle burst from the foliage, hot on the trail of the running creature. It accelerated until it was along side the creature, who then tried to escape by diving under the vehicle, rolling away on the opposite side, taking off in a different direction. This plan was foiled though when something shot from the vehicle and wrapped around the creature's legs, dragging it to the ground. With a roar of its engine the vehicle braked, skidding on air and then idled back towards the fallen form before stopping completely.

Several beings, similarly formed to the first though definitely a different species and quite a bit larger, exited from the vehicle and started to approach the fallen form, all carrying weapons and all clothed in what looked to be some sort of camouflage gear. Their voices drifted up to the watching hunting party as they laughed at the figure on the ground that looked to be in some pain.

"Seven armed against one unarmed, bound and possibly injured." G'na'e'cha snarled. "From the shape it looks to be female too." He added.

"What do you think?" K'ar'e'cha asked.

"We wait and observe." The clan leader said calmly.

(-_-)

She tried to pull her face out of the dirt but with both her hands tied it wasn't going to be easy. The laughter ringing all around her wasn't doing her any good either; it brought up too many memories of other times she was helpless. A booted foot connected with her side, rolling her onto her back and causing her to cry out.

"Oh, look! She has a voice after all! So she can do more than just bite and growl."

She looked up at her tormentor. Despite the long gash running down the side of his face, he was a deceptively hansom looking white feline; deceptive because she knew his soul was ugly, black and twisted. She had given him that gash herself in her bid for freedom. Another kick jabbed sharply into her ribs then one across her muzzle. She could taste the coppery blood flow into her mouth.

"Take it easy, Sethen…" One of the others warned.

"Don't worry, I'm just getting her back for biting me and not playing nice." He grabbed one of her feet and started dragging her over to the vehicle. She winced as a sharp stone scrapped along the full length of her back.

"Fuck!" She cursed. "You son of a bitch!" He just laughed, stopping and turned to her for a moment.

"Son of a she-cat actually. Get your races right. My mother ain't no dragon-loving dog."

She abruptly pulled her knees into her chest, dragging him down too so that for a second they were face to face. She grinned evilly.

"Kiss my furry red ass!" She snarled and then kicked with all her might, sending him flying for a few feet.

With a screech of rage he picked himself up and leapt on top of her, forgetting his gun, pummeling her with his fists and scratching with his claws until he felt someone trying to pull him away.

"HEY! Cut it out! He wants he is one piece, remember?" One of his subordinates reminded him. He looked at her scratched, blood from both her nose and mouth matting in her red, black and grey fur, her breath heavy and ragged, yet still she glared up at him defiantly.

"Bitch." He spat. The fur on his hands was tinged red from her blood and he had cut his knuckles on her teeth.

"That's vixen. _Now_ who's mixing their races?" She growled, spitting blood. He hissed threateningly but then he got an idea.

"The boss said he wanted you in one piece; he didn't say anything about you being pristine."

He grinned as he saw the look of realization and fear cross her face and she started to kick and snarl. "Tie her to that tree." He ordered. The others hesitated. "NOW!"

Two of them dragged her up by the thin piece of wire between her cuffed hands after one had unwrapped the bolas from her legs and then it took 5 of them to drag her, continuing to kick and snarl, to the tree and tie her to it, the rest keeping their guns leveled at her. She continued to put up a fight but it was no use.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! I'll rip your heart out and shove it down your throat! If you so much as touch me you are dead!"

"Empty threat, _vixen_." He crooned smugly, running the back of one claw down her face then grabbing her tender muzzle roughly, causing her to wince, and forcing her to look at him, just to prove he could. "You, on the other hand, are going to learn to respect your betters."

He licked her cheek and she tried to bite him but he pulled back and just grinned at her, until he noticed that she had stopped struggling and was now staring at his chest. "What the-"

A soft, harsh sound issued from somewhere nearby and in a flash of blue light his chest exploded. A second later he dropped away, dead. The other felines had their guns up before he hit the ground, looking around franticly.

A clicking sound echoed around the clearing, making them all jump, fur prickling and standing on end.

"What the fuck is going on?" One of them hissed.

"Oh shit, I knew going after this bitch was a bad idea." Another whimpered.

"Fuck, I bet it's whatever's been nabbing people all week!"

"Don't say that man, don't fucking say that! I _saw_ those bodies! I am _not_ going to go like th-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence as his head suddenly departed from his body, spraying blood in the faces of his comrades.

From there it was quick, maybe a minute, before they all lay dead, mostly decapitated, what was left of the bodies strewn around the clearing. She watched it all happen quietly, continued to stay silent and still as their screams faded away into the jungle; she was satisfied that their deaths were befitting of the crimes they'd done against her, the others she'd seen and probably the ones she hadn't seen as well. She knew the killers were out there still, watching her. She could taste their scent on the air, only faintly though, over all of the blood.

There was also the fact that she had 3 red dots on her chest, the same ones she had seen on Sethen's before his chest had been blown up. If she died now she didn't really care. She'd been waiting to die for a while now and death held no fear for her. She was more afraid of what life held for her.

She felt something brush by her whiskers and a moment later the bindings holding her to the tree came free. Not expecting it, the stumbled forward a little and bumped into something solid. In front of her, only just visible even at such close range, was a slightly distorted area; it was the best cloaking she had ever seen. There was a crackling sound and the cloak dissipated, revealing something with orange skin and brown stripes. She then realized that she was staring at its neck and tipped her head back to see a shiny grey mask.

It was huge, at least a foot taller than her and she was just over 7 feet tall. It was wearing amour across its chest and shoulders, some on its legs and arms and she could see various weapons attached here and there. Underneath all of the amour it was wearing something that looked like fish net, which stretched across its muscles. Its form was definitely humanoid. Looking back up to the face she could see two lenses, which she assumed hid its eyes, in the silvery mask and a marking above where the brow would be. From underneath the mask sprouted many long, tentacle-like growths which reached down to its waist. Looking closer, she could see that they were actually coarse hairs that had been twisted into dreadlocks. Raising her eyes again to the face she realized that it was studying her in much the same manner.

So this was her rescuer. She'd never seen anything like it; except in science fiction. She took a step back and bowed her head in respect and thanks, hoping it would understand the gesture and ignoring the flash of pain it brought from her aching body.

"Thank you for saving me." She said with out thinking.

It seemed surprised to hear her speak and she hoped she hadn't blown it. It came closer to her but she stood her ground, though she was scared as it raised an arm and pointed at her.

"Speak…ooman?"

She had to squash a nervous giggle; its voice sounded very rough, as though it had trouble making the words.

She knew that all the Shift-born spoke dialects of Universal Standard and that the other races among the known universe that the Shift-born had had contact with had all adopted it as the common language. And yet here was a being that didn't speak Universal Standard anywhere near as fluently as a species in contact with the Shift-born should do – even those who were physically incapable of producing the language had been given translation devices. It seemed inconceivable that a being who seemed to know of humans (at least she guessed that 'ooman' meant 'human') wouldn't be in contact with the Shift-born and have an easy means of communication with them and from the way it (she was fairly sure it was a 'he' but she could be wrong) was observing her, she got the feeling it hadn't seen anything quite like her before.

Yay for her; communication with a previously undiscovered race.

"Yes, I speak human." She answered.

She sensed something behind her and quickly leapt away, landing crouched on all fours though slightly unbalanced because her hands were still cuffed.

It was another one, a little smaller than the first but still far larger than her and had tan skin mottled with green spots. It cocked its head to the side, as if confused, sending its dreadlocks cascading across its shoulders while the first made a trilling sound that gave her the distinct feeling that it was laughing at the one that had tried to sneak up on her. Orange skin then chirped and clicked at Tan who responded similarly.

She perked up her ears. Was this their language? Her curiosity peaked, she moved a little closer as they continued, managing to catch what sounded like individual words.

'Mmmmm….let's try a little something here…' She though.

(-_-)

"_Blah"_ - Yautjan

"Blah" - Universal Standard

(-_-)

"_Nice try, K'ar'e'cha. Setg'in kwei little thing isn't she?" _T're'e'cha'ka chuckled.

"_She moves fast, I wasn't expecting that."_ The other yautja replied.

"_She's strong for such a small thing. Still fighting after the beating she took."_

"_And she speaks the Pyode Amedha tongue. So did the males." _He observed. _"I've never seen either of these species before. She'd make a good pet though, I think." _

"_Pyode Amedha?"_ A small voice spoke.

Both yautja looked down at the female. _"Pyode Amedha?"_ She repeated.

The large triangles of flesh on either side of her head, which seemed to be her ears, perked up, expectantly. She seemed to be waiting for a response.

"_She's trying to learn our language. Smarter than she looks."_ T're'e'cha'ka murmured, looking at K'ar'e'cha.

"_Hey, where did she go?"_ K'ar'e'cha asked, looking around.

He spotted her a couple meters away, walking in a manner that suggested she was stalking something, her eyes staring forward, focused. Only a few feet ahead of her, backing away, was one of the cloaked young bloods. _"She can see through the cloak?"_

"_I don't think so,"_ The older male replied, thoughtfully. _"But she knows that something is there; definitely smarter than she looks. Let's see what she does."_

The female continued to stalk towards the young blood who wasn't sure what to do about it. She was nearly half a foot taller than him and had an intent look in her eyes but he was sure he wouldn't be permitted to harm her because the clan leader had just saved her. While he was distracted by his thoughts, she leapt at him, planting her hands on his chest and knocking him down. She stood there, grinning down at where she figured his head would be, hands still on his chest, feet planted on either side of his legs, tail wagging from side to side happily.

"Tag. You're it." She rumbled. The creature turned her head back to towards the clan leader. "This one of yours then?"

"_What did it say? I don't understand ooman."_ K'ar'e'cha asked, chuckling.

"_She asked if he's one of ours."_ T're'e'cha'ka laughed. _"De-cloak, Ma'e'ka, you've been found." _He called to the young blood. The female let out a surprised yip as the cloak dissipated and the let the young blood up.

Ma'e'ka grumbled and clicked, angry with himself.

He'd just had to come down and see what was happening, hadn't he? His friends had always said his curiosity would get him killed one day; they neglected to mention that it would get him humiliated too.

Suddenly he realized that the creature was growling at him. Great, what had he done now? Wait, it wasn't growling at him, it was growling at….

"_KAINDE AMEDHA!_" K'ar'e'cha roared, just as the young blood felt sharp talons rip into his back.

She dodged out of the way just in time to avoid being fallen on by the new being.

Looking around franticly she saw that the other two were each busy with one of the black beasts that had burst from the undergrowth. She looked back at the smaller one; it wasn't doing well, still trapped beneath the black beast that had attacked it. She looked down at her hands, the wire between the cuffs.

She hoped this beast needed air.

"HEY!" She yelled, trying to get its attention.

It looked up, just as she leapt at it, slipping her hands beneath its slavering jaws, twisting her body around to land on its back and pulling the wire tight around its throat. Unfortunately the momentum from her leap sent both her and the beast tumbling, ending with her underneath it- but the wire still circled its throat. The beast clawed at the wire and her hands, its tail lashing around trying to hit her but, being crushed as she was by the beast, she was safe from the tails reach and held on for all she was worth.

_Choke already, damn you!_ She thought desperately. She was going to be squashed if this didn't end soon. With a heave the beast righted itself, taking her with it and leaving her an open target for its tail. It slashed across her belly, tearing open her stomach and she howled in pain.

She knew the wound would kill her but if she was going to die, she was taking this hell beast with her. When the tail next came down she trapped it between her legs and coiled them around it so that it couldn't move and grinned, hearing the beast's angry hiss. "See you in hell, fucker." She whispered to it, before pulling with every ounce of strength and functioning muscle she had left, using its own tail as leverage to pull against. The beast's nightmarish screams echoed in her skull, long after they started to fade, long after the sickening _thwuck _and the smell of something burning. Even as the world grew dark and she felt her damaged, blood deprived muscles go slack, she could still hear its screams.

End Ch1


	2. A Close Shave

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn

pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 2- A Close Shave.

"_What about this device on her wrist? It seems to be undamaged."_

"_Take it off. It can be returned later; healing her is more important and it'll only get in the way."_

"_Yes, Elder."_

"_She needs blood."_

"_But Elder, all we have is…..if we even try, it could kill her…the chances of her surviving…"_

"_If we don't, she will die anyway."_

"_As you wish, Elder."_

(-_-,)

Like a living entity, it sought a place to shelter, a place to grow.

It drifted in the warm red channels, repelling the weak attacks by the inhabitants and in return leaving them slightly changed. A green began to blend the channels and more attacks came, stronger, more aggressive, yet they too fell but just as it left them changed, they left it changed as well.

Then it found the well spring.

(O.O)

Anxiousness. Concern. Confusion.

Like colours they played across the mind.

Pain, so much pain, like a burning river, lighting up the darkness. Calling her to wake.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

It was dark. Her body ached. Something moved nearby.

She tried to rise but a large hand gently pushed her back down.

"Sleep." It rumbled. "Must sleep."

"It hurts." She groaned, her eyes unfocused.

"Not for long, _yeyinde,_ not for long. Must sleep."

She drifted back into the darkness…..

(-_-)

"_She's healing well but these blood tests…."_

"_There's bound to be a few irregularities; it's a miracle she didn't reject the blood we gave her in the first place."_

"_You're right. I just hope she wakes up soon. The Elder is becoming very, well, edgy."_

"_Yes, and so are the other three. You know, I hear she fought the kainde amedha unarmed and with her hands bound."_

"_Don't listen to rumors. If she had no weapon, how did she remove its head?"_

(O_O)

Strange clicks, growls and chirps drifted around in the darkness. She felt warm but not unpleasantly so. Sudden out of the darkness came the black beast, hissing and screeching as it slashed open her belly.

Her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, uttering a soft cry. She saw something move towards her out of the corner of her eye and instinctively rolled away in the opposite direction, ending up sprawled on the floor and in much pain, something pulling at the skin of her arms. She felt large, rough hands grab hold of her and she struggled, ignoring the burning sensation as something tore, pain shooting through her and growled threateningly. The hands released her and she backed away quickly, turning to face whatever creature was there, continuing to growl.

Her eyes were blurry and wouldn't focus but she could still see that there were two figures in the room with her, both larger than her and wearing white. She didn't like white coats; white coats poked and prodded and did nasty things. She growled louder.

One of the figures barked something to the other and the second one left quickly. She kept growling, though the remaining figure did not approach her or do anything but watch her. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, warily eying each other but eventually her growl had dropped off and they stared at each other in silence and she started to calm down, her vision starting to clear a little.

The door opened and several caped forms entered, including the other white coat and she stared growling again when she realized, even with her fuzzy vision, that the ones wearing gold coloured capes were holding weapons. The largest figure, wearing a scarlet cape, stepped forward, clicking something to the others and she backed away.

"Easy,_ yeyinde_, clam down." It said in Universal standard, shocking her. Seeing it had her attention, it continued. "Must calm down or will hurt self."

"You-you speak my language?" She asked timidly.

"Fairly well, yes." It replied. "Please let Healers help you." It indicated to the white coats.

"Healers?"

"Yes."

"Not scientists?"

"No, not scientists." It reassured her, its tone indicating that it was confused as to why she should be afraid of scientists.

Her fear ebbed away and with it her strength, causing her to shudder and finally collapse against the wall. The two Healers came forward and helped her back to the bed, laying her down.

"Why can't I see properly? Everything's all blurry." She asked as the two Healers fussed and fiddled, checking vital signs. After a few clicks she had her answer.

"You were badly injured, sleep many days. Body is worn out from the healing but will get better quickly now you awake."

Satisfied with that answer, she asked the more pressing question.

"Where am I? And please forgive the rudeness but who are you?" Wouldn't kill her to try to be polite about it and by the way the others were acting, it was someone important so she figured she shouldn't get them angry.

"You are on board a Yautja vessel. I am Ka'e'aka, an Elder of the Guan-Thwei Clan. It was my son who you save."

"Oh, he's ok then? That's good." She thought for a moment. "This is probably a stupid question and please don't be offended, but you _are_ a male aren't you?" He chuckled.

"Yes, I am. In fact, you are the only female aboard right now."

"Well, that makes it easier for me I guess. Not to sound ungrateful - because I am _very_ grateful - but why am I still alive? That black beast tore me wide open and by my reckonings, I should have been dead from blood loss alone."

"Our Healers are very good and you were brought aboard in time." He answered.

She sat up slowly, despite the protests of the healer and looked at the Elder.

In the silence that followed she read their feelings of apprehension and concern and in doing so realized that the C.A.J.E. had been removed. She sent a tendril of consciousness into her own body and what she discovered there surprised and reassured her - they had gone to quite some lengths to heal her. She rubbed her eyes and forced them to focus, determined to at least see the faces of these 'Yautja'.

As her vision slowly cleared and focused, she could see that their faces were far from anything she had yet seen on a humanoid but that only made her more curious about them.

They were certainly more frightening in appearance without their masks but she already knew she had nothing to fear from them, they had gone through the trouble of healing her after all, and observed their features closely. Wide foreheads, defined sweeping brows ending in crests, hooded eyes in shades of yellow and brown from what she could see, four tusked mandibles surrounding and partially hiding a small lip-less mouths with sharp teeth and above that, two flat slotted nostrils. They were all multi-coloured, some dark, some light, some speckled, some striped and some even both. Interesting. Scary as hell but interesting.

"There you are." She murmured, more to herself than anyone. "It's good to be able to see who I'm talking to."

"Indeed." He answered though he seemed slightly confused.

"Your Healers preformed a blood transfusion with what I assume was blood from one of your kind." She paused a moment, grinning as they were obviously surprised that she knew what had happened. "A very tricky and dangerous procedure considering you don't seem to have ever encountered my race before but I am thankful it was attempted as it saved my life. I would like to thank them and whoever donated the blood but I can't speak your language."

"Wait a moment." The Elder said and then spoke in his own tongue to one of the armed males behind him who then produced a small box from somewhere and moved to hand it to her. She accepted it and opened it to find a tiny device, about half the width of her pinky finger-nail and another small object that looked rather like a tiny piece of translucent fabric, roughly the same size as the other device. "Translator," The Elder told her. "Place behind upper canine tooth and press with lower canine to turn on and off. Tape, place in ear."

She positioned the 'tape' first, placing it as close to her ear canal as she could so it would catch as much sound as possible. The device was put in the correct place and she yelped as it clamped its tiny claws into her tooth with a little electric jolt. She clenched her teeth against the pain automatically.

"_Pauk that hurt!"_ She cursed without thinking.

Several of the Yautja started at her words and she felt their surprise. She realized she had just turned the translator on and looked around sheepishly. _"Ah, sorry. I guess it's working."_ Great. Real smooth. Her first words in an alien language and it's a swear word.

"_That's alright,"_ The Elder growled in amusement, now perfectly understandable in his own tongue, the slight delay from the translator barely noticeable. _"I should have warned you about that. Now, what is your name?"_

"_Veriea Faux,"_ She hesitated a moment and then decided she should give some kind of rank. _"Of the Fornnan red fox tribe."_

The Elder approached and laid a hand on her shoulder. Something inside her responded to the touch.

"_Welcome, Veriea Faux." _

"_Thank you, Elder Ka'e'aka."_ She answered, returning the gesture as best she could considering his height. Her blood sang in her veins and she could feel…something. She tilted her head to the side, observing the Elder. Her blood? _"It was you who donated the blood?"_

"_Yes. Though you were unarmed, without amour and bound, you killed the kainde amedha. We have hunted the kainde amedha for thousands of years and very few of our warriors have achieved such a feat as yours. And at the same time you saved the life of my son. Such acts are greatly honored among our kind."_

"_I was repaying a favor; some of your warriors rescued me from the hands of some rather nasty individuals and it was my fault that your son was unprepared for the attack." _The Elder raised an eyebrow. _"I er-pounced on him while he was still cloaked, I distracted him."_

"_From what my warriors tell me there was ample time for him to recover, in which you tried to warn him of the danger behind him, another honorable act."_

Veriea bowed her head, accepting the Elder's words and that she wasn't going to get out of this by being modest. Then she caught a glimpse of her belly and yelped, jumping up, ignoring the fact that several of the males had reached for their weapons as she did.

"_What's wrong?" _One of the healers asked, confused as she grabbed at her stomach,

"_M-my fur! You shaved my fur!"_ She yelled, somewhere between a snarl and a whimper as she tried to cover the offending area with her hands. She snatched a sheet off of the bed and dragged it up to cover her middle._ "Ell-osde c'jit! A forenien's fur is like its clothes! How would you like being half naked in a roomful of strangers?"_

The healer's cheeks flushed a deep green, his right lower mandible clicking.

"_We had to in order to heal you. It's not as if you have anything there to hide."_ He said in his defense.

"_Shows how much you know."_ She growled. Stupid healer. Her nipples were all exposed without her belly fur! Though – she supposed – they didn't seem concerned with that for them selves; quite likely one of the many social differences she would discover. She peeked under the sheet. _"Pauk, this is going to take weeks to grow back to being decent and then it's going to be uneven for ages. C'jit! I'm going to have a pauk'de square on my stomach!"_

"_She certainly seems to have the hang of our swear words already." _One of the males chuckled. She couldn't help but grin at that and ran her hand through the locks of fur on her forehead but the froze. She ran her hand though again and then rounded on the healer.

"_Pauk! You took a section off of my forehead as well!"_

"_Wait, wait! That wasn't us!" _The healer said, backing away with his hands in front of him as if he expected her to attack. _"That was the kainde amedha blood and you're lucky it didn't burn right into your brain!"_

She paused, frowned and then plunked herself back down into the bed, grumbling.

"_Pauk'de kainde amedha…I'd like to kill it all over again." _She muttered angrily. She ran her hand through her locks again and grimaced. _"Well this is just embarrassing. I'm not staying like this when I don't have to." _She said, hauling the sheet up further and wrapping it around her so that it covered her whole body from the neck down.

Then she shocked every one by changing into a human.

End-Ch2


	3. Blooded

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

Chapter 3- Blooded

They all stood, mandibles slack as they stared and Veriea had to bite back her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"What's the matter? I thought you knew what human's were?"

Elder Ka'e'aka snapped out of it first.

"Why didn't you tell us you could shape shift?" He growled.

"You did not ask Elder." She said softly, sensing he was angry but not sure why. "If this form is a problem I can change back. I only now just thought of it myself."

"Are you really an ooman or the other creature?" He asked, his tone no longer friendly. She was a little angry that he was calling her a creature but she knew she should have thought about her actions more carefully; she was among an unknown culture, she should have taken into account they might not like shape shifters.

"The other 'creature' is called a forenien," She answered, keeping her tone carefully respectful. "And that is what I am. This human form is simply an ability I inherited from my mother." Ok, so not entirely truthful but she didn't want to have to try and explain her whole life to them. Seeming satisfied with that answer the Elder nodded.

"Be warned Veriea, many of our kind have a dislike for oomans and would not think twice before attacking one, even a female, if they were to step out of line or annoy them. You would be no match for any warrior like that."

Veriea sighed.

"Mmmm…Pride? Or will to live? Pride….will to live…." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Stupid will to live." She grumbled, changing back to her true form. "Ah well, that human form is too short anyway." Veriea noticed that with that comment the tension left the room and some of the yautja even chuckled. She decided it was time to ask the big question. "Elder, I am grateful for all the help you and your kind have given me….but what now?"

For a moment silence was held. Then the Elder spoke.

"You are honorable and have passed the Kainde Amedha Chiva, though you were unprepared for it. Among our kind you now bear the rank of Young Blood. Even though you are not a yautja, because of your accomplishments, I would ask that you join our Clan and hunt with us. It will not be easy for you; you are untrained and others of our kind may not accept you. You can choose now to go back but this will never again be offered. We will give you a mark to show that you are honorable and should any yautja cross your path, you will be treated as prey though most will not harm you if you show them the mark but by no means all. If you accept, there is no going back; you pledge loyalty to the Clan and the only way out is death."

She didn't hesitate to answer.

"I want to join you."

The elder closed his eyes for a moment.

"Consider this carefully, yeyinde. This is not something to take lightly."

Veriea closed her own eyes, her breath deepening. If only they knew how much she wanted this. She'd only just learned of their races existence in the universe but she already knew that this is where she wanted to be. This was the place where she could be accepted as she never had been anywhere else. She would fight for a place here if she had to. She could sense they were impressed slightly by her attitude, her composure, her triumph over the kainde amedha. These people praised honor and strength and bravery; all the virtues she herself held in high regard. She could be content here, cutting a niche for herself and maintaining it honorably even if it would be a tough road. She had been gone so long, there was no way that there would be anything left for her back home; they must all surely think her dead, if there was anyone even still around to remember her. And with them, she would be safe from the Bastarians.

She opened her eyes.

"I wish to join your clan, Elder." She said calmly.

The Elder nodded and motioned for one of the other males. He stepped forward and handed something black to the Elder, who then moved towards her.

"You have successfully completed the Kainde Amedha Chiva and so proved yourself a warrior. I mark you in the name of the Guan-Thwei Clan."

He pressed the end of the black thing – which she now recognized as part of a claw from the black beast- against the side of her muzzle and burned horribly but she knew better than to move or make a noise as he traced 3 diagonal lines, parallel to each other and then a forth in the opposite direction, connecting them all together. "Uphold the honor of the Clan, until the Black Warrior takes you."

He then turned to the others, laying a hand on her shoulder. "By my Blood flowing in her veins, I claim this Young Blood as my daughter. Do any oppose it?"

_He what?_ Veriea thought, shocked by the claim.

A few of the yautja shifted a little but none spoke. He turned back to Veriea. "Do you accept, Young Blood?"

Veriea looked at the Elder for a moment, searching his face.

"I accept this honor, Elder." She replied after a moment.

"Then it is done." With a nod to the Elder, the other caped yautja filed out of the room. "Leave us." He instructed to the healers and they too quickly disappeared.

"Why did you claim me as a daughter?" Veriea asked, causing the Elder to chuckle.

"Because if I had a daughter, I imagine she would be much like you. The young blood you saved, my son, is my only remaining offspring. When I heard about how you saved him, I knew that you were not merely honorable prey."

"What do you mean?"

The Elder sighed.

"After the birth of my son, many rotations ago, I became incapable of producing offspring. On a hunt soon after, my sire was injured. He returned to the ship barely alive and asked for me by name, which in itself was unusual because he had never singled me out before, being only one of his many sons, not even the only one to become a Clan Leader. He told me that the Black Warrior had shown him the future and that my next child would come to me the day of my son's Chiva, falling with the kainde amedha, in the shadow of their brother, only to rise again of my blood. Then he died. Until we received word of an incident during the Chiva I had forgotten his words. I saw you and doubted but you had saved my son and you needed blood; my curiosity won out. When you survived the transfusion, an inter-racial transfusion that under every logic shouldn't have worked, that should have killed you, I couldn't deny that you were the child my sire spoke of. And you accepted my claim."

"I could sense that you wanted me to." Veriea whispered. "I could feel your certainty that I would accept." The Elder looked at her. "I'm an Empath; it means that I can sense others feelings and if the feeling is strong enough I end up sharing it. I knew that you wanted me to accept." _Why_ she had accepted still confused her, even if she understood the mechanics of it.

For a while neither of them said anything.

"Do you know who those other yautja were?" He asked. She shook her head. "They're called Arbitrators. They are the law keepers of our race. They were here to judge you."

"Judge me?"

"Judge your character, see if you were a threat. They came from the clan ship to see if you were worthy to become a warrior. They'd have killed you if they saw fit to but you did well, very well for one who knows nothing of our kind."

Another silence fell.

"So where to from here?"

"Now that you are reasonably well and Blooded you are free to move about the ship until we rejoin the clan ship. You may have to report back here for check ups but so far it seems your species' regenerative capabilities nearly rival our own. There are no spare living quarters as this is only a drop ship and we weren't expecting to pick up a clan member so will be sharing with your new brother." He chuckled as he saw her pained look. "Do not worry. He seemed anxious to meet you properly and will tell you all you need to know. When you are well enough, K'ar'e'cha, one of the warriors who helped you and the clan leader's third in command, will begin your training. Do you feel well enough to move now?"

"Surprisingly, yes but would it be possible to get something to cover myself with first?"

"You are part of the clan now, you should show your scars with pride; they are proof of your battles and triumphs."

"I have no problem with my scars, Elder. To put it bluntly, it's my nipples I don't want anyone to see." She replied, straining hard to keep the bite out of her voice.

The Elder looked as though he had only just remembered her earlier outburst and she was sure she saw his cheeks darken a little. _Yeah, that's right._ She thought irritably.

"Very well," He said, doing a good job of acting indifferent. "I'm sure we can find something."

They found an extra white healer's coat, the sight of which still gave her the slight chills but she shrugged it on anyway and decided that she would just pretend it was a different colour. It was old, worn, thread bare and the Elder –for _some_ reason- looked at it as though he'd rather burn it than let her wear it but as long as it covered her bare patch, was mildly content. Besides, it was that or use one of the bed sheets toga style and she preferred the creep coat personally.

The ship they were on was small so it was only a short walk but it was still long enough to attract several curious and inquiring gazes. By the time they reached the room, Veriea quite felt like simply hiding and had suppressed the instinctive urge to do so behind the Elder several times. They knocked and when no one answered the Elder showed her the code to open the door. He suggested she familiarize herself and wait for her 'brother', who was probably somewhere with his clan mates, and then left.

Now left alone and to her own devices Veriea felt uncomfortable in this strange room and found herself jumping for no reason at nothing. Standing upright had began to make her recently healed stomach muscles ache so she reverted to her preferred four-paws walk which was better for examining things anyway - not to mention snooping. After a while, something white caught her eye and the made her way over to it.

It was actually two white things.

They were longish and set on a high shelf halfway along the wall and she had to stand again to see them properly. As soon as she was at eye level with the objects, she realized that they were skulls. She lifted one down carefully and turned it around, running her fingertips over it, feeling the grooves, dips and flat planes of its surface which seemed so familiar. Then she realized; it was from the black beast. The skull of a kainde amedha.

"That's the one you got." Someone spoke, startling her so much she dropped the skull, sending it clattering to the floor.

(O_O)

Ma'e'ka'cha watched the creature intently as he walked towards her.

So this was his new 'sister'? He hadn't really had a chance to look at her properly before so now he took in the details person who had saved his life.

She was taller than him but only by a little now as he'd had a growth spurt since he had last come face to face with her – she had, after all, been unconscious for nearly a week and a half – and it was very unlikely that he wouldn't have more, he thought smugly. Her arms and torso were both long and she seemed quite lean and too thin but that was to be expected after how long she'd spent recovering and she hadn't exactly been in good shape when the hunting party had encountered her.

The majority of her fur was red, a dark grey spread downward from near her eyes, over her narrow muzzle and swept down across her belly – or he assumed it did from the tufts of grey he could see through the gap in the healers coat she wore – all of it edged in a deep, earth brown. Her forearms were the same grey, giving her the appearance of wearing gauntlets with fluffy elbows, edged in brown also.

Her legs were oddly shaped, the calves being much shorter than the thighs and her black, brown trimmed feet were proportionately long with more fluffy bits at the ankles and ending unmistakable animal paws. Her large bushy tail flicked back and forth, nervously he imagined, its black tip quite eye-catching among the red and brown. A large cross-like marking graced her back, thin lines of grey, widening as they swept down the top of her tail, once again edged in brown which continued the length of her tail, meeting with the black tip. Her large, triangular ears were also black tipped and there was a bar of black across her eyes which ended in three streaks on either side of her face.

He could see the mark of the clan on her muzzle, a distinct pale raw pink against the dark grey but her eyes were more interesting. They were large and bright, very different from those of a yautja and they seemed to have two irises around their pupils; the inner a brilliant green and the outer a deep blue. She was fascinating if nothing else and though she looked weak, he knew she had strength in her slight form.

And strangely enough, he had instant liking for her.

He picked up the skull from the floor and handed it to her.

"I didn't mean to startle you." He said and then realized she probably didn't understand him. But then she surprised him.

"Is this really the one I killed?" She asked in perfect yautjian.

"Yes, mine has a hole in the back of its skull." He looked at her curiously. "Translator?"

She nodded.

That explained a lot. He should have known better than to think his sire would just hand her over to him without even being able to communicate; he didn't speak ooman like him. She set the skull carefully back on the shelf, then turned and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I am Veriea."

So she knew that custom already. He thought about her name for a second. But he had better correct something before she got herself in trouble. He mirrored her gesture.

"I am Ma'e'ka'cha but you can't introduce yourself like that."

"Like what?" She asked, obviously confused.

Ma'e'ka'cha sighed.

"No only will no one be able to pronounce your name but now that you are the daughter of an Elder and a Blooded member on the clan, you must add the proper endings." He explained.

"The Elder had no trouble saying my name…." Ma'e'ka'cha quirked one lower mandible, the yautja equivalent of grin.

"Not all yautja are as clever as our sire and I assure you, pronouncing your name would have hurt his throat terribly. Now, say your name again."

She complied and watched as he moved his mandibles silently for a moment. "Ver'ei'a." He pronounced and did the grin thing again.

"Ver'ei'a." She repeated, trying to get her tongue around the new pronunciation of her name, which was surprisingly difficult.

"Good. Now add "ka'cha" to the end of it." He encouraged once she finally got it right.

"Ver'ei'a' ka'cha." She grimaced. "That's one mouthful of a name."

"Your friends will shorten it in time but for now it important for you to observe our customs. You can tell a lot from a name."

"Like?" She prompted.

"Our names have a defined structure. The first part is what our mothers name us, followed by an "e" or "a" depending if we are male or female. Offspring of Clan Leaders and Elders have "ka" added as well. When we come of age we chose which path we wish to take and after completing a trail we are given our rank; "cha" for a Blooded Hunter or K'cha'ku, "ga" for I'ka'ga'ku, the Researchers, "de'a" for Chi'de'a, the Healers and "ke'a" for Teki'ke'a, the Tech Workers. If a Hunter becomes a Clan Leader their rank becomes "cha' ka" and if one becomes an Elder their rank changes to "aka". Understand?"

"Yep." She nodded, thinking he sounded like some old fogy explaining the meaning of life. _Come to think of it,_ she thought, _how old is he anyway?_ Then quickly asked before she lost her nerve, "Question; how old are you?"

This took him by surprise.

"In our terms, I'm eleven rotations old. Why?"

"Do you know what that is in human years?"

"Roughly twenty-five." He answered after a moments calculation. "Why?"

"Bugger. That makes you 'big' brother. I'm only nineteen in human years." She pouted, while also thinking he was a damn tall 11 year old and Ma'e'ka'cha wasn't sure why but the knowledge made him want to grin. A buzzer sounded from somewhere in the ship.

"The ships sleep cycles are starting." He murmured.

"Can I have the hammock?" She asked, pointing to the hanging contraption that had been set up in one corner of the room.

"You _want_ it?" He asked, surprised. He had thought she would want the bed.

"Yeah, sleeping in high places makes me feel…more comfortable."

"By all means, take it." Ma'e'ka'cha grinned.

This wasn't going to be so bad after all.

End- Ch 3


	4. Dreams and New Friends

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 4 – Dreams and New Friends.

(-)

The kainde amedha reared it's head and screeched. She snarled in return and swiftly detached its head from its shoulders.

"Didn't get me that time you hell beast!" She growled as its body seemed to collapse in on itself. She lifted her head and howled in triumph.

Another voice called.

"There you are, you bad girl."

Her blood froze as a pair of hands grabbed her roughly, turning her to face the one person she feared above all others.

"I've been looking for you."

She saw that cruel smile.

"Let's see how much you can take before you scream this time, shall we?"

She tried to run but he wouldn't let go, then suddenly she was falling down into the dark….

(-)

With a heavy 'thud', she woke up.

She leapt to her feet, breathing hard, her eyes darting around the dark room looking for danger. A stab of pain in her stomach forced her to remember where she was and especially what had happened to her. She clutched at her belly and her hand came away wet.

Great. She'd torn open the still healing wound.

She pressed her hand back to the tear and focused her energy on that spot, willing it to heal the damage her unnecessary panic and ungraceful exit from the make-shift bed had done. She eyed the still swinging hammock; so much for a high place making her feel safe.

She was tired, especially after using her energy to re-heal the now fully healed wound but she was afraid to go back to sleep, to see that face again…It was easier to face her fears when awake, in the light of day; when she was asleep she was helpless. Absently she stroked her finger tips across her stomach. She thought of Silvashadow, who could have healed the wound near effortlessly.

A tear slid down her furry cheek.

Silvashadow.

Her one true friend from her past, from the beginning, or at least one of her beginnings. She had never thought she would make it to 15, not after _They_ caught them; she bore the scars, memories, everlasting reminders. Veriea could still remember the look of determination on her friend's face as Silva had tried to fight a way back to her, the tears in her best friend's large yellow eyes as they refused to believe that it was too late to save her. Before everything had gone dark for Veriea, she remembered hearing Silva being dragged to safety by another of their companions, his normally bright blue eyes dulled by the grief he felt for the friend he believed dead and lost.

Silvashadow; separated from Veriea by time and species but still the other half of her soul.

Veriea realized she was crying as the memories faded back into the dark recesses of her mind. They would come back to haunt her some other time.

She heard the soft sounds of breath and remembered about Ma'e'ka'cha, quietly padding over to the bed on all fours, the pain in her belly not allowing for a vertical transition.

He was still sleeping soundly, laying on his side, unaware he was being observed. Even in the dark she could see him clearly.

His skin was much paler than that of the other yautja she had seen, a fleshy grey colour, unlike his sire's and unlike his sire, who had red and burnt orange speckles, he had dark brown stripes. Mostly on his neck from what she could see. His dreadlocks had only a few metal clasps in them but they all glinted in the dark from some unknown light source. Curious, she reached out and touched his arm, pushing it a little.

Yep, definitely asleep. If she had been an assassin or something he wouldn't have stood a chance. His skin was warm and tough, like a reptiles' but without actually scales. It reminded her of something familiar but she couldn't put her finger on what…

Then it hit her.

It reminded her of Silva.

The colour and texture were the same, even though Silva had actually had scales, they had been small and smooth, fitting together so well that the armor had felt as soft to the touch as suede – despite being strong enough to be able to repel most bullets. Was that why she wasn't quite so afraid of these people; they reminded her vaguely of her lost friend? She honestly didn't know but she supposed she should be thankful for the comfort she gained. She started to move away again but hesitated. She looked back at him. He was obviously a heavy sleeper and he was her brother now supposedly….he wouldn't mind, would he?

Shrugging, she crawled onto the bed, ready to run for it if he looked like waking up. She shrugged out of the coat, laying it over her like a blanket and laid down next to him, her back to his. She was half asleep when he rolled over, his arm falling across her waist. For what seemed like an age, Veriea held her breath, not daring to move an inch. Then his slow, even breathing tickled the back of her neck and she had to suppress a giggle.

_So a heavy sleeper_. She thought, while she squashed a sudden urge to do something mischievously evil.

It was kind of creepy to have his arm there but as long as his hand didn't go wandering on its own, she wasn't going to risk waking him up to move it. Yawning widely, Veriea curled up and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

(^.^)

"Ma'e'ka'cha. Hey, Ma'e'. Wake up."

Something prodded Ma'e'ka'cha hard between his shoulder blades and he woke with a start.

"Huh? What?" He mumbled, looking up at his best friend, G're'e'cha, a dark grey, tan-tiger-striped, green speckled yautja.

"Sssh." The young blood hissed, holding a finger to his mandibles.

"How'd you get in here?" Ma'e'ka'cha muttered, still half asleep.

"I jacked the pad," He answered smugly, quirking one mandible in a grin, "But before you start yelling, you want to tell me what that thing on your arm is?"

Confused, Ma'e'ka'cha looked at his arm and realized he couldn't see most of it for all the red fur; Veriea was curled up next to him on the bed with a death grip on his arm, the coat she'd been wearing kicked to the end of the bed.

For a minute he just stared, unable to speak before murmuring bemusedly;

"She wasn't there when I went to sleep."

"Obviously." G're'e'cha sniggered. "So, this is your new sister?"

"Her name's Ver'ei'a'ka'cha and yes, now help me figure out how to get my arm free." Ma'e'ka'cha growled .

"Well, let's just wake her up."

Before he could be stopped, G're'e'cha roared.

Veriea literally shot up into the air, somehow managing to come to rest on the shelf where the two kainde amedha skulls were displayed, her fur standing on end, giving her a very frazzled and alarming look while making her appear twice as large as she actually was.

G're'e'cha was on the floor laughing so hard he could barely breath and when the shelf broke, sending Veriea and both the skulls crashing to floor, he only laughed harder. Ma'e'ka'cha, on the other hand, was less than amused; not only was the shelf now broken but in her fright, Veriea's claws had dug into his arms, leaving large gouges.

"Pauk'de hulij-bpe!" He snarled at the other young blood over his shoulder, going over to see if Veriea was alright.

"What the pauk was that?" She asked, shakily getting to her feet.

"_That_," Ma'e'ka'cha growled, angrily twitching his upper right mandible, "Is my sorry excuse for a friend, G're'e'cha."

Veriea's eyes narrowed at the laughing yautja.

"Can I kill him? Please? I'll get you a new friend, a better one…"

And then G're'e'cha dug himself a deeper hole.

"Hey! She's got six nipples!" He exclaimed, pointing.

Veriea's pupils contracted to slits and Ma'e'ka'cha hastily backed away, out of the path between her and G're'e'cha. He knew _that_ look.

"Ok. He's dead." She said calmly before launching herself at him.

At the last second, the young blood rolled aside, leaving Veriea to land flat on her face and then sat on top of her, effectively pinning her down. Veriea thrashed violently but the yautja had several kilos on her currently meager frame and held her down easily.

"Stop G're'e'cha! You're going to hurt her! She's still recovering!" Ma'e'ka'cha shouted over his new sister's snarls.

"Easy, mei'hswei, I know what I'm doing." He drawled and freed one hand to gently scratch the spot behind her left ear.

After a moment, Veriea stilled and then went limp with a small noise.

"Great, you killed her!" The irate young blood yelled to which G're'e'cha chuckled.

"No, I didn't. See," He answered, shifting his leg aside and using his other hand to scratch a spot just below her ribcage. Her legs began to twitch and kick of their own accord. "Very much alive." He smirked, ceasing the demonstration.

A soft, purring kind of grow emanated from her throat and Ma'e'ka'cha's mandibles hung slack in amazement.

"How did you do that?"

"Pressure points and a bit of luck. Didn't you ever have a pet as a youngling?" The young blood answered smugly, grinning at his friend.

"I suppose that's good to know incase I ever get her angry." Ma'e'ka'cha mused. "You gonna let her up soon?"

"If she promises not to try and kill me again. What do you say?" He asked, massaging her right ear.

"Mmmm….only if you do that a little while longer…"She purred lazily.

"Deal."

When he finally let her up, she stretched exorbitantly and then sat up, her skin visibly quivering for a moment. Eventually she spoke, grabbing the coat from the bed and buttoning it.

"You ever do that again without my permission, I'll _castrate_ you."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "It means I'll remove your reproductive organs in the most painful manner possible." She elaborated.

"Ouch." G're'e'cha turned to Ma'e'ka'cha. "You sure she isn't a yautja female?"

"Is he always this cheeky?" Veriea asked, pointedly ignoring G're'e'cha.

"Unless he's faking respect, yes." Ma'e'ka'cha groaned. "We think someone dropped him as a suckling." Veriea caught a glimpse of his arm as he gestured.

"C'jit, did _I_ do that?" She asked reproachfully, indicating to the long scratches.

"Yeah, when you were spooked." Ma'e'ka'cha shrugged. "Nothing serious."

"Let me see it." She said gently. He held out his arm to her and she examined it closely. "Hmm, not too deep. I can fix these." The two yautja then watched as she held one hand hoveringly above the scratches and they quickly healed over, leaving the skin completely unmarked.

"What the…?" Ma'e'ka'cha examined his renewed arm with wonder.

"Shit, I did it again." Veriea softly berated herself for once again doing something possibly dangerous in her situation.. "I take it this sort of thing is unknown among the yautja then." She sighed, wondering what had happened to all those brains and street-smarts she used to have.

"What was that?" G're'e'cha said, staring at her.

"I can use the energy my body makes to do things, nothing big though, I haven't had a lot of training and most of what I've learned is just by instinct. I can heal most wounds, burn out fevers, create small amounts of fire and – only _sometimes_ – move things with my mind." She explained, getting it all out in one go.

"If you can heal, why didn't you heal the wound the kinde ahmeda gave you?"

"Well, like I said, I use the energy my body creates to do this stuff; if I'm exhausted or hurt it makes it harder to do it. There's also a point at which my body won't let me do it anymore because it would start to actually damage me, like a saftey cut-off. I was well past that point when you guys found me."

"_And _you can turn into an _ooman_." G're'e'cha pointed out smugly.

"How did you know about that?"

"One of the Healers was blabbing it around earlier."

"Figures." Veriea scoffed. "Yeah, I can turn into a human too."

"Can we see? I've seen never an ooman first hand before." G're'e'cha asked excitedly.

"Well, I guess so. Just don't gawk at me, ok?"

Making sure the coat was going to cover everything that needed covering she settled herself comfortably and everyone went quiet.

Then she changed.

Immediately she knew something was off and she looked down to see her tail, still present and wrapped around her legs. "That's odd, I still have my tail."

"You still have your ears too." Ma'e'ka'cha said.

"Of course I still have _ears_, humans-"

"No, I mean your _other_ ears."

Veriea's hands flew her head. Large furry ears.

"Pauk. This isn't good. This has never happened before."

"Is human hair supposed to be like that?" G're'e'cha asked, curiously.

"Hesitantly, Veriea felt her hair, only it wasn't human hair, it was thick, course strands of red yautja hair, or what she supposed yautja hair looked like before it was dreadlocked.

"This is too weird. I'm changing back."

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha?" Ma'e'ka'cha asked when after a moment nothing had happened.

"I can't change back!" She said, panicking now. "Oh, pauk! This is _so_ not good!" She put her face in her hands despairingly, until that is, she saw her hands. "My hands are changing colour!" She yelped in surprise. It was true. Her skin was becoming darker as she watched. She was really freaking out now.

"I'm getting the Elder, he'll want to know about this." Ma'e'ka'cha said striding to the door. "Stay with her, G're'e'cha, try to keep her calm." And then he was gone.

Veriea began to hyperventilate as she watched her nails grow long and black like G're'e'cha's, her fingers also lengthening and becoming dark. G're'e'cha did all he could to try and calm her down, all traces of his playful demeanor gone in favor of seriousness and concern as she made small sounds of pain.

When the Elder arrived everything was quiet.

Veriea was sitting silently on the edge of the bed, head bowed, her new strange hair hiding her face like a curtain. G're'e'cha was kneeling in front of her, speaking softly.

"What happened?" The Elder demanded.

"I asked to see her human form Elder." G're'e'cha answered solemnly. "Something went wrong." The Elder growled angrily as he walked over to them, his scarlet cape flying out behind him.

"Move." He barked irritably at the young blood and quickly he obeyed. The Elder tipped her face up to his and hissed, his mandibles flaring in surprise as he saw. "The symbol of the Black Warrior…" He murmured.

Veriea's skin was now a beige brown, speckled with burnt orange and striped with red, the Elder's own coloring. Her fingers and feet were black, as were the talons she now possessed instead of nails and her legs seemed to still have the same shape as of her forenien form, though now fur-less. The most obvious things were her tail and ears but she also now had small spines running down the fronts of her legs for a short ways.

Her eyes were those of her forenien form, wide and bright, her clan symbol now a scar-like mark beneath the left but what had caught the Elder's attention so raptly were the three large red stripes on her face amongst the speckles. The longest started from under her hair line, running down her forehead, coming to a point at the tip of her nose. The other two swept across either cheek, their points nearly touching that of the first. The symbol meant 'all things coming together' as one might expect to happen at the time of death or in the Afterlife, while participating in the Great Hunt. What was so greatly surprising to the Elder though, was that, other than the ears, tail and face, she looked almost like a yautja.

The other two young bloods were stunned, only just realizing, as the Elder had done, how much she now resembled their race.

"Are you ok, Ver'ei'a'ka'cha?" G're'e'cha asked gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It hurt….a lot." She breathed.

"Well, you got one serious _makeover_." He chuckled. Veriea didn't have time to wonder how he knew what a makeover was as the Elder regained his authoritative manner.

"Are you ok?" He reiterated the young blood's question, seeming pleased by her change.

"I think so. It doesn't hurt anymore." Veriea responded shakily.

"I believe this may have been for the best. Things will be easier with your new appearance; it will be easier for others to accept you." The Elder placed his hand on her shoulder and said in a voice only for her; "Now you are truly my daughter."

He then left the three young bloods, a grin on his face, confident in mind that he had chosen the correct choice in saving her and that the Black Warrior had sent his influence and was now smiling on them.

In his heart he knew; his daughter would do great things.

End – Ch 4


	5. Scars and Dreadlocks

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 5 – Scars and Dreadlocks

It didn't take Veriea as long as she thought it would to come grips with her new appearance.

She was definitely upset and not happy that she couldn't change back to her forenien form but she reasoned that far worse and unpleasant things had happened to her and this was a walk in the park comparatively. It also seemed that being a yautja/fox-girl had its advantages and up sides.

Not only could she still use her energy abilities, she had the additional yautja's strength and could see heat like they could as well as in colour, which did take some getting use to (courtesy of a few walls and at the expense of a fair amount of her pride).

G're'e'cha found her one of the extra sets of female clothes which consisted of an armored loincloth and a matching bra like piece, both made out of a material with the texture of soft leather but which stretched and moved with her body while still hugging firmly, almost like a second skin, putting her in the safe mind that she wasn't going to 'fall out' of it. Which was a good thing considering that she had been informed by a surprisingly straight-face and also unfortunately ignorant G're'e'cha that her (ahem) 'milk glands' were larger than the average female yautja's. She had gotten the message through quite clearly that those kinds of blatant comments were not going to go unpunished.

She was considerably happier after doing so; she certainly hadn't forgotten his idea of a good wake up call.

The clothing was decent enough, considering she usually only wore her fur but she liked that it showed off all her muscles, particularly the six-pack abs which her human form had definitely never had before – her new body certainly took after her forenien form more in that aspect.

Except for lack of fur, the heat vision and yautja hair, it was like being in her forenien form and she became comfortable with her new look fairly easily. And it did take care of the 'exposed nipples' problem.

It wasn't long before their stomachs told them it was time to eat so they went down a level to the galley where Veriea was very pleased to find that a vast majority of the yautja's diet was made up by meat, in many varying states of cooked from raw to very well done – medium rare being her favorite – and they dug in with gusto.

While they were eating though, she couldn't help but notice the looks she was getting. Of the 21 yautja she had learned were aboard the drop ship (7 young bloods, 6 blooded warriors, 2 honored warriors, 2 healers, the pilot, a tech worker, the Clan Leader and the Clan Elder) most of the young bloods were seen to be present, as well as a few of the blooded warriors and she felt as though they all had their eyes on her. It made her want to hide, particularly because they were all so much taller then her due to her recent change but Ma'e'ka'cha had warned her that if she showed weakness she would be more open to attack and others would be more likely to challenge her presence among them.

It seemed though, for the moment at least, that the young bloods were mostly awed by her – no doubt from the rumors that would be flying around about her – and the blooded warriors curious yet unconcerned about her. Maybe it was because they had heard the manner in which she killed the kainde amedha.

Then again, maybe it was all the scars; strange how this new body reflected all the past pains of the others.

Of course there was the one across her stomach from the kainde amedha's tail blade and on her shoulders and hands from its claws but there were many, many more. Very few she had gotten in human form, they were only small, barely there ones; the rest she had gained in 3 short human years. Veriea forced the memories that started to rise up away, mad at herself for letting them creep forward and then noticed that one of the young bloods was behind her, obviously staring intently at her scars.

"What do you want?" She snapped, her voice coming out harder and angrier than she had intended as she turned to face him. The yautja started and backed away hastily.

"Nothing." He said quickly and moved off, looking over his shoulder as though he expected to se her chase after him.

"You don't like people looking at your scars?" G're'e'cha asked conversationally.

"Not that closely." She growled.

"Aww, and I wanted to see if there were any under that fur…" He grinned.

Veriea groaned.

Great. Just what she needed.

A yautja Furry.

"I have two words for you G're'e'cha; testicle relocation." Veriea realized that she had said the last part a little too loudly when she saw everyone in ear-shot flinch. Kind of made her wonder about the females of the species; they obviously they took these kind of threats seriously.

Except for G're'e'cha, of course. He just laughed.

"That's a new one! I can't wait to see you use that on the older warriors once we get to the main ship." He trilled.

"Yeah, right. Like they'd even be interested in me; I'm a completely different species." She scoffed. "Well, sort of." She added, frowning at G're'e'cha's open amusement.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Ma'e'ka'cha put in. "I've heard of some clans accepting _oomans _as warriors _and_ having yautja mates. Ooman females at least."

"Yeah and you look very tasty…" G're'e'cha purred in her ear. Veriea kicked him in the shin and he started hopping around on one leg, supposedly howling in pain while many of the other yautja shook their heads and made incensed utterances.

"But that actually works?" Veriea asked over the noise G're'e'cha was making as he floundered around. "Biologically?"

"From what I've heard." Ma'e'ka'cha shrugged. "You look a lot more like us now than you did and that's what's like to matter to the others most, other than what you've done. Put those together and to be perfectly honest, you probably would be rather appealing."

"I don't know of I should take that as a compliment or be scared out of my mind at the possibility."

"Just take it as a compliment, it's easier and you should be aware that it _is_ a likely possibility." He shrugged again. "And you, stop over acting!" He growled at G're'e'cha, who immediately stopped, as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"Oh well, she wasn't paying any attention anyway."

"And the reason you haven't killed him yet is…?" Veriea asked Ma'e'ka'cha calmly, ignoring G're'e'cha.

"I often wonder that myself."

(o_O)

After having had their fill, the trio returned to Ma'e'ka'cha and Veriea's quarters to plan the rest of their day. It was only a drop ship so there was no kerhite on board, which meant there wasn't much to do until they rejoined the main Clan Ship.

First they fixed the broken shelf (with many dirty looks in G're'e'cha's direction) and then they settled to the task of dread-locking Veriea's hair, a very time consuming activity, while giving her a crash course on how she had to behave if she wanted to continue living once they rejoined the rest of yautja society.

"_Never_ turn your back on someone, especially an Elder or another female." G're'e'cha emphasized, his fingers nimbly working through her hair. "That's one of the most insulting things you can do and people won't let you off with just a warning."

"Well that's easy enough to remember. Are the females really nine feet tall?" She asked, starting to piece together the reason behind the reactions to her earlier comment. It seemed that females were more than something to be reckoned with, particularly for any male concerned; it was a wonder to her, really, how the race managed to reproduce if this was the males' outlook on the females.

"On average and more dangerous than the males, at least for other males; females have got a quicker temper and tend to want to settle the score straight away rather than wait to challenge an offender to jehdin-jehdin." Ma'e'ka'cha said seriously, finishing a dreadlock. "It's surprising that you're so short." He added thoughtfully.

"Well I'm younger than you two aren't I? Only – what was it? – seven and a half rotations in your years?" She said logically.

"I suppose that would make you a tetchy little thing wouldn't it?" G're'e'cha teased, trying to ruffle her hair and messing up the dreadlock he was currently working on.

"I _hate_ being little." She growled sulkily and batted away his hand. "I'm _always_ little."

"You were bigger than us in your other form."

"Not by much, and you two aren't full grown yet. Even for a forenien I'm short; usually we're around eight foot like you but I'm only just over seven. Now I'm barely over five."

"You'll probably grow too, you know and you're part yautja now so that's got to mean something." G're'e'cha commented, then looked thoughtful for a moment. "It might be a sore spot once we get to the main ship though; the Un-bloods will probably have a go at you. They always pick on the little ones."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Veriea sympathized.

"Yeah. No one is your friend when you're in the Pitts and the bottom of the pecking order. You don't want to be the smallest in there."

"We won't have to stay there, will we?"

"No. The Pitts are for the un-bloods, perfect place for their training and squabbles. They might have a go at you but unless they actually challenge you, you can just ignore them; being blooded, those zazin pauk'des are below are notice." G're'e'cha grinned.

"That's probably best since you aren't actually trained yet." Ma'e'ka'cha said, finishing another dreadlock.

"I _am_ trained, just not in the same way as the yautja. I know plenty of un-armed combat; clean fighting, dirty fighting and otherwise." Veriea insisted.

"Just pray you aren't required to use it." He looked over their work. "We've almost finished this. Put the thwei'tek on now, G're'e'cha, so it'll be dry when I get back with the clasps. Do you want gold or silver?" He asked, getting up and resting a hand on her shoulder. "If you want bone, you'll have to hunt for them yourself."

"Gold, it'll go well with the red and brown." She answered as he walked out. The door slid shut after him just as G're'e'cha slathered the thwei'tek onto her hair and started spreading it down the length of the dreadlocks.

"Finally." He huffed.

"What?"

"We can talk about your scars." He answered as he worked.

"And what makes you think I want to talk about them?" Veriea growled, warningly, wanting move away but held captive by her dreadlocks.

"They aren't battle scars. Or at least most of them aren't." He clicked softly.

"How do you know?" She snarled in return, moving away as he finished his task. He gently touched one of the scars on her right upper arm, which circled around it.

"That was made by a binding being left and struggled against long enough to cut into the flesh, several times over. You have more like it on your legs and other arm."

"So?"

"So, it takes weeks for something like that to form the kind of wound that leaves a scar as distinct as this; you were someone's captive for a very long time."

"What do you care?" Veriea hissed, his evaluation hitting to close to home. "You don't even know me!"

"I respect you and consider you mei'hswei. I also believe that no female should be treated in such a way as to leave such marks."

She could think of no reply and he continued. "I saw you take down the kainde amedha; your face showed the warrior inside; m-di'h'dlak. Even when faced with certain death you showed no fear and drove your opponent down, in a resourceful way no less, considering you were bound and un-armed. Yet when the other creatures had you, when you seemed so brave as you taunted them, any one who looked closely would be able to tell, you were really afraid. Why?"

"There are worse things than death, G're'e'cha. Worse even than dishonor." She whispered, not looking at him.

"Is that what happened here?" He reached over her shoulder, touching a set of scars which were high on her chest, below her collar bone. "These long ones were self-inflicted – hesitation marks and they match the correct angle – you were trying to get something out…and this one," He traced one talon around the semi-circular mark in the middle of the others. "I noticed there's a matching scar on your back, below the shoulder blade; whatever did this must have very nearly pierced your heart." He reached down to her right arm again, to the long spiraling and dashed scar which was on her forearm.

She flinched reflexively. "This one still confuses me. The nearest thing I can think of would be some kind of branding but it's not a burn mark…"

"How do you know all of this?" She asked softly.

"My bearer is a healer. I used to watch her tend to the injured and so I learned a few things. Originally, I was going to follow in her foot steps but I decided I like the idea of having mates too much."

"Whatever." She muttered. "I don't want to remember where these scars came from. Don't mention them again and don't tell Ma'e'ka'cha what you know, please."

"Why?"

Veriea stood, getting angry with his intense inquisitiveness and rounded on him.

"You know nothing about my past! These scars are not honorable! They're the marks of someone who was too weak!"

G're'e'cha stood too, towering over her but remaining calm.

"If you were weak, you would not be here. You survived whatever gave you those marks. You escaped from those creatures you were running from, even though they were bigger and out numbered you and even though you were injured, ill-equipped and unprepared, you finished off the kainde amedha. If that does not prove that you are honorable, then no one is honorable."

Again, she could not find something to say or more accurately, couldn't find the words and she sank to the floor, her tail curling around her protectively of it's own accord, as if trying to shield her from her own memories. How could she make him understand, realize, that it was only out of sheer stubbornness and desperation that she had killed the kainde amedha in what she had believed would be her last defiant act? That it was not, by any small amount, the first time she had attempted to escape what he had so aptly deemed 'creatures'? That she hadn't survived the processes that had marked her skin?

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice G're'e'cha's approach and started with a jolt as gently rested his chin on her shoulder, after sitting quietly behind her.

"You're in my personal space." She mumbled halfheartedly.

"No, _you're_ in _mine_." He smirked, his mandibles tickling her cheek as he spoke. She shot a glare at him. "Fine, so I am. So gut me. Your personal space is nice."

She couldn't help but grin and then shoved him away in a friendly manner.

"Trust _you_ to turn that into an innuendo."

"A what?"

"A _suggestion_." She said pointedly, her mood picking up now that he had dropped the subject of her scars. He quirked the mandible again, understanding.

"It cheered you up though."

"Of course. It's hilarious that a person who's known me less that a day is hitting on me." She laughed.

"I'm not hitting you." He said, confused. She shook her head in disbelief.

"It's a slang term for…hinting at being interested in a female, like…flirting." She tried to explain, hoping that he _did_ know what flirting was.

"Ohhhhhhh." A look of realization crossed his face before becoming confused again. "Why is that funny? You are interesting and it's fun being able to tease a female without getting beat up."

"You are _really_ weird." Veriea chuckled.

"Thank you." G're'e'cha smirked.

"Geeze, are all yautja like you?"

"No, most of them act like they have a naxa lodged in their butt or at least most of the males do. The females are usually ok unless you piss them off and the k'cha'ku females are really serious about training and hunts, like scary serious."

"I thought all yautja were serious about the hunt?"

"We are but…you'll know what I mean once you meet one."

Veriea was about to reply when the door opened and Ma'e'ka'cha walked in.

"I've got the clasps. We'll be docking with the Clan ship soon." He announced. Veriea quickly forgot the earlier incident as they rushed to fix the clasps in her dreadlocks and prepared for docking.

She was feeling very bare walking beside them as they made their way to the air-lock, both of them fully decked out in their armor and weaponry. She felt especially small next to the large kainde amedha skull she was carrying, hanging down her back, her trophy. It wasn't heavy, really, but she was very conscious of how ridiculous she looked toting something that was more than half her height around on her back, particularly when compared to the impressive sight her friends made doing the same thing.

When they joined the other yautja in the air lock, many gave her looks, some sympathetic, others cocky smirks. As they waited, a young blood behind her sniggered so she jammed her elbow into his stomach, which happened to be at the perfect striking height. He shut up, not making a sound past the 'oof' the air rushing from his lungs had made.

She smirked.

Maybe being little wasn't _quite_ so bad.

End - Ch 5


	6. UnBlood, Young Blood

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

S'yuit-de: coward/cowardly

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 6 – Un-blood, Young Blood

The first thing Veriea noticed was that the ship was HUGE.

The second was that she could still tell it was huge, even though she couldn't see anything around her, being quite thoroughly squashed in the middle of the young bloods who all stood at least two feet taller that her.

As they moved out of the drop ship the pressure eased up and she could move freely (as well as breath) again but she realized suddenly that she had lost Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha. She forced herself not to panic, reasoning that once the crowd thinned a bit she'd be able to find them again. They would probably find her once they realized she was missing.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her, picking her up by the back of her neck.

Her fox-cub instincts (which she was quite surprised to realized were still present but was a little too preoccupied to think much on it) kicked in and her legs and tail automatically tucked up into her chest and she hung in the person's grasp like a limp bundle of flesh.

"What the pauk is _this_? A runt?" A voice boomed as she was turned to face her trapper. Then they apparently saw her tail, ears and face. She was raised higher until her eyes were level with the yautja's. Veriea saw the flash of a gold cloak and gulped.

An_ Arbitrator_.

Her eyes flicked to it's brow.

_Not _from the Guan-thwei Clan.

Her eyes flicked down.

Female.

Veriea wanted to whimper. Somehow she'd managed to piss off a female Arbitrator, from another clan, all with in a minute of stepping off the ship. "Someone lost a pet, huh?" The Arbitrator murmured.

Veriea didn't know what to do. Ma'e'ka'cha had told her to show the utmost respect to Arbitrators and Elders but she didn't know if she could tell the towering female that she wasn't a pet and ask to put her down without seeming disrespectful. She really wanted to whimper, but it was stuck in her throat. That's the problem with crash courses; with out the full one, people tend to crash.

"I see you've met my new sister, mother." A familiar voice said from behind her. Veriea said a silent thanks to gods – she didn't particularly care which ones as long as they got her out of this alive.

"Ma'e'ka'cha." The female said, her tone notably softer. With her free hand she shook her son's shoulder in greeting, Ma'e'ka'cha returning the gesture.

"Could you please put her down? I think you may have frightened her."

Veriea let out a sight of relief as her feet touched the solid ground again and made a mental note to thank Ma'e'ka'cha profusely later.

"I thought your sire said that she looked like one of the furry creatures from the ooman planet?" The female said, eyeing Veriea.

Ma'e'ka'cha quickly explained what had happened and the female laughed. "Well, she looks a lot more like a yautja now; even I mistook her for a runt. And you say she saved your life by taking down a kainde amedha, un-armed?" She eyed Veriea again, more thoughtfully. "What is your name young blood?"

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha." She answered, more confident now that she knew the female was Ma'e'ka'cha's mother. Veriea noticed that her son took after her as far as colouring was concerned.

"That's an interesting name. May I call you Ver'ei'a?"

"Of course." What else was she supposed to say to an Arbitrator? As if she could read Veriea's thoughts, the female smiled.

"My name is Thwei'a'aka. You may call me Thwei'a." She rested one of her massive hands on Veriea's shoulder. "Welcome to the Clans, Ver'ei'a. Enjoy the feast." Then she was gone.

Veriea wondered if all the Arbitrators and Elders took lessons on how to make an exit with a flurrying of their cloaks.

"Sy'ua, she must _really_ like you!" Ma'e'ka'cha exclaimed. "She doesn't let _anyone_ shorten her name, not even the other Arbitrators."

Veriea was a bit stunned by this information and was quiet for a moment as she processed the implications of it. Then she snapped out of it, remembering something else.

"Did she say something about a feast."

Ma'e'ka'cha chuckled at the eagerness evident in her eyes and tone of voice.

"Yes. A feast is held when the young bloods return to the main ship and tonight will be even greater as we are the first Chiva group to return without losing a single un-blood in over three hundred rotations." He laughed, his mandibles clacking. "We are also the first to ever return with an _extra_ young blood!"

"I just hope that everyone else is as happy about that as you are." Veriea answered, rubbing the nape of her neck. "Being picked up like that hurts a lot more in this form than it did in my forenien one."

"Come on, we're sharing quarters again, with G're'e'cha too. Let's drop off your stuff and I'll show you around before the feast."

(^_^)

The ship was even bigger than Veriea had thought.

It was not, as she had assumed, the Guan-Thwei Clan's ship – that was else where at the present time – it was THE Clan Ship, a sort of 'home away from home' for the yautja where the Clan's could come and go, for social mingling purposes, restocking and refueling, where the Council of Elders convened, where the young bloods were welcomed back into the fold of their society upon completion of their Chiva and where the un-blooded pups trained and started their journey to adulthood, whether it be on the path of a warrior in the Pitts or to another profession under the tutelage and apprenticeship of an older yautja.

It was the cycle of the yautja life embodied.

Veriea felt incredibly honored to be able to see what she was seeing, even knowing that she was being admitted to this grand and proud race's society. Even if many would not be accepting her as her new brother and friend had, it was amazing to think that she was now part of all this and she knew that she would do all with in her power to uphold the honor she'd been given; as she looked on in wonder, she vowed that she would.

Veriea viewed everything she was shown with intense interest. She was fascinated by the enormous arches in the hallways and the intricately carved panels and columns around every bend. Ma'e'ka'cha had shown her most if the main facilities – the kehrites (where there seemed to be many fights and contests happening, both friendly and not so friendly), the tech labs (where she had to restrain herself from going and touching things and tinkering) and the Archives (where all of the yautja's history was recorded, including great wars, major Clan feuds, highly honored warriors, Elders and Arbitrators of the past and present and, of course, their culture's deities) – when G're'e'cha found them and gave her a very knowledgeable tour of the infirmary (she hope she wouldn't be seeing it often in the future) and then, lastly, the gardens.

Veriea instantly decided that this was her favorite part of the ship.

It seemed that even the yautja enjoyed stopping to smell the proverbial roses once in a while and had an entire section of the ship dedicated to botanic pleasures.

Upon seeing it she practically dove through the door, breaking into an enthusiastic cross between a run and a skip, doing cartwheels, handstands and tumbles along the way, while her friends watched on in amazement, unable to comprehend why she would be so ecstatic over the gardens. Veriea settled down when she noticed that she was weirding out Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha and they walked in a more calmly fashion, letting her take in the beauty of the alien plant life.

It was still hours until the feast so they decided to do a bit of sparring and training games.

The first game was mostly like tag, where someone would be 'it' and had to lad hits on one of the other two, making them 'it' but it had to be a clean, unblocked hit to count. Surprisingly to the two yautja, Veriea was best at that game, becoming 'it' least often and landing clean blows quickly. She just waved it off as being due to her fox instincts of hunting and evasion.

They settled into a sparring routine, taking turns to pair up with Veriea while the other spotted for them, correcting her stances to the appropriate yautja equivalents and teaching her yautja techniques that she would need once she started practicing with her weaponry, as well as informing her of the rules of one on one combat.

Jehdin-jehdin it seemed was quite specific in what she was and wasn't allowed to do, what was considered disrespectful to do during a match and she found, to her surprise, that if one of the combatants broke the rules the other was entitled to take their life. It did not seem so surprising though, that many combatants lost their lives anyway, following the rules or not and this left a very definite impression on her; jehdin-jehdin was not to be entered lightly, if one could help entering it at all.

While they were taking a break, Veriea noticed that many of the males that passed them eyed her speculatively and wasn't sure whether to be flustered by this or flattered by the attention. She quickly decided that she should be flustered after several very tall, daunting females looked her up and down as if they wanted to pick a fight.

"It's the scars." Ma'e'ka'cha told her matter-of-factly after the seventh female had flounced off – as well as a being that was several hundred pounds of muscle _could_ flounce. "They're jealous because you have so many impressive ones already and they've probably heard about the kainde amedha."

"I don't think I like all this attention. Some of those females looked like they wanted to skin me." Veriea shuddered. "Besides, it was only one kill."

"An un-armed kill against the greatest prey – with your hands tied!" G're'e'cha said exasperatedly. "Just accept that you did something worth boasting about and enjoy it already. We were there, we saw it all, we remember; you definitely have bragging rights."

"Yeah, right!" A harsh voice growled behind them.

They turned to see 4 yautja males approaching them, 3 of them a little smaller than G're'e'cha and Ma'e'ka'cha but the forth, who seemed to be the leader, was a little over 8 foot. A quick glance identified them as un-bloods which surprised Veriea as she wouldn't have thought that an un-blood would be so big.

And apparently both Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha knew him.

"What to you want Gav'e?" G're'e'cha hissed, flaring his mandibles.

_Knows and doesn't like him. _Veriea noted.

"I came to see what pitiful excuse has been accepted into the Guan-Thwei clan." The large un-blood answered, tilting his head to the side, considering Veriea's form. "And from the looks of things, that sire of yours is going senile." He added to Ma'e'ka'cha.

Ma'e'ka'cha flared his mandibles and arched his back, roaring, attracting the attention of the other yautja nearby.

"_Take that back!"_ He took a threatening step towards the un-blood.

"Let's go, Ma'e'ka'cha." Veriea urged, laying a hand of his shoulder, not liking the vibes she was getting from this impudent male, feelings she was uncomfortably familiar with.

"He insulted the Elder! The filthy un-blood!"

"And you said it was best to ignore them," She hissed under her breath so that the trouble makers wouldn't hear. "Let's go."

"Look at the mighty hunter!" The un-blood called Gav'e sneered. "Wanting to run away! You may look like a yautja but you're still s'yuit-de prey. I bet your mother was a lou-dte kalei pauk'de ooman!"

Veriea froze.

She knew he was just trying to push her buttons. She knew he was just stirring up trouble. She knew she should just walk away, knew that she still could.

But she also knew that it wouldn't solve anything. The 'sticks and stones' method didn't work in practice back on Earth and probably didn't work here either. This male was out for blood and he would continue to seek it, for whatever reasons he found her so offensive.

But she would make it on her terms.

Perfectly aware of what she was doing, she moved until she was standing in front of him, her hands clenched into fists of rage.

"You want to say that again, you butt-ugly pauk'de?" She snarled.

Then he did what she had so hoped he would do. Gav'e shoved her shoulder one-handed. "For the honor of my clan, I accept your challenge." She growled, chin raised in defiance of his condescending glare.

Pulling the stunned Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha around, she then stormed out of the gardens, knowing that any seconded now they would come to their senses and chase after her. She silently counted in her head.

3…

2…

1…

Veriea couldn't hold back the grin as G're'e'cha's voice exploded only a few feet behind her.

"Are you completely hulij-bpe pauk'de?" She grinned again at his choice of words.

"He challenged me, not the other way around. I couldn't refuse without being dishonored. _You_ told me that, remember?"

"But you goaded him to do it, I know you did!" He roared.

"One of you two would have challenged him, don't act like you wouldn't have!" She yelled right back. "My mother died so that I could live and I owe my life to the Elder! I would be glad to fight for his honor, as much as hers."

"But you don't understand, Ver'ei'a," He said, his voice taking on a softer, more pleading tone. "Gav'e has been in the Pitts for _years_, he's a lot older than we are, didn't you notice how tall he was? The Elders haven't let him take the kainde amedha Chiva yet because he's too violent and unpredictable. He's practically a bad blood! And _no one_ has ever beaten him before."

"Well then he's about to get a very big lesson indeed." Veriea growled. "Besides, he was going to challenge me anyway, that's why he showed up. That bully's got a point to prove and he had already decided that to get the message across he has to go through me. At least this way he'll be thinking that I'm less experienced than I am and that will give me an edge in the kehrite."

Ma'e'ka'cha stopped dead in his tracks, jerking Veriea to a stop as well as he grabbed her arm.

"How do you know that? Did you _plan_ this?" He growled.

"Yeah, I'm really that stupid." She scoffed and then sighed, resignedly. "Look, there's something I forgot to mention when I was telling you about my abilities. The Elder knows but I guess I forgot after the 'changing' incident. I'm an Empath by birth, which basically means I can sense people's moods and feelings; that's how I knew." She smirked a little. "That's also how I knew G're'e'cha was going to blow up like that."

"What? You can read minds?" G're'e'cha asked apprehensively, obviously unnerved.

"No, that's thoughts, I can't read those. Just feelings. Like, even though Gav'e only looked like he was trying to cause trouble, I could tell he was out for blood. That's why I was trying to drag _your_ ass away." She added pointedly to Ma'e'ka'cha.

"Are you trying to say this is my fault?"

"Pauk, _no_. This isn't anyone's fault but Gav'e's. No one insults the one's I care about and I figured if it wasn't now, it'll be another time. It's time for someone to put that pauk'de in his place and at least if I fight him now I have the element of surprise."

They both looked at her and sighed in unison.

"I guess we'd better go over the rules again, then."

(O.O)

The Pitts were exactly that; pitts.

Like a full circle amphitheater the walls rose high above the Pitts' kerhite and by the time Veriea stepped into the arena, the ring was already lined with spectators of varying rank. It seemed that many were interested in seeing the fight between the strange new young blood and the well known un-blood.

"Good luck and may the Black Warrior watch over you." Her friends whispered as she left them, starting her walk to the center of the arena where Gav'e and an honored warrior from a different clan, who had agreed to preside over the fight and act as judge of the winner, stood silently waiting for her.

She looked back to her friends for a moment. Ma'e'ka'cha was climbing up into the stands at the side line but G're'e'cha was still watching her. She gave him a small wave and a smile as if to say 'don't worry so much, I'll be ok' before Ma'e'ka'cha called him and he turned to follow, giving her another glance over his shoulder. She knew they were worried about her and she was wary herself but she'd gone up against bigger goons than this guy and she was pretty certain that she would be faster than him as well as lighter footed and she had Empathy going for her, a definite advantage.

She also had sheer stubborn will on her side. If she kept her wits about her, kept him guessing and off kilter, she might come out of this alive.

"Are you read, lou-dte kalei?" Gav'e hissed, flaring his lower mandibles.

"I'm always ready to kick the butts of low-life like you, you pauk'de zazin." She snarled in return. He growled and the honored warrior addressed the audience before he could think up something else to say.

"The Un-Blood Gav'e has challenged the honor of the Young Blood Ver'ei'a'ka'cha and that of her Clan Elder. Ver'ei'a'ka'cha has accepted the challenge of Jehdin-Jehdin. May the warrior who is speaking the truth be victorious and the warrior who is false be punished. Step forward and greet each other."

Veriea and Gav'e stepped forward and shook each other's shoulder, Gav'e quite obviously trying to exert extra force on her should but she just gave him smug smirk; he wasn't going to intimidate _her_. Gav'e relented and backed away, crouching into hiju, the combat stance which G're'e'cha had told her was also the correct stance for disemboweling.

How quaint.

Veriea took no stance, knowing full well that Gav'e would think her incompetent for it and instead began cracking each and every knuckle in her hands, the satisfying pops echoing around the kerhite in a way that made her smirk kick up a notch.

"You're going to regret the day tried to pick on _me_, boy." She taunted, cracking her neck with two quick jerks, just before the honored warrior roared and the Jehdin-Jehdin began.

Both opponents started to circle one another.

Veriea sent out tendrils of consciousness and could feel that he was wary of her unknown skill level and decided it was time to implement some of the famous fox trickery, making a few deliberate mistakes in her foot work, giving him a false opening and Gav'e leapt but she was more than ready for him. Just as his fist was about to connect with her stomach, she launched herself into the air, flipping over him and kicked him high in the back, knocking him flat on his face.

She stayed crouched low over the ground, her tail flicking lazily from side to side, chuckling as he picked himself up. As they began to circle again, this time with Veriea on all fours, utilizing her unique body form and the amused clattering from the audience, she wondered if he was stupid enough – or angry enough – to fall for the same trick twice.

Again she made mistakes and again he lunged but she could sense an out-of-place smugness from him - he was prepared for her maneuver this time - so instead she rolled under his feigned attack, diving underneath him and kicked him the butt, again sending him to the floor before rising to her feet.

"I told you I would kick your butt." She taunted again, playing on his anger.

But she wasn't prepared for his sudden lunge. It caught her high in the chest, almost choking her and then knocking the wind out of her as she hit the floor with Gav'e's immense weight on top of her.

"I'll teach you some respect!" He hissed and for a moment one of her memories bubbled to the surface –

…_He was on top of he, her hands pinned uselessly above her head. She lunged upwards, biting at his arms as hard as she could and he hissed furiously, back handing her across the face. "I'll teach you some respect!"…_

and he punched her in the face. Veriea felt her jaw unhinge with the force of the blow, her mind jolting back to the present and decided that it wasn't a good idea to let either things happen again. As his fist came down a second time she caught it and twisted it harshly so that it would be useless, at least for a little while.

Gav'e roared and grabbed at her arm with his other hand, dropping his gauntleted elbow painfully onto her sternum. She tried to back hand him with her free left hand but he flared his mandibles wide, catching her wrist between his teeth and biting down _hard_. She could have screamed if it weren't for her dislocated jaw.

So he was biting her now; so much for it being disrespectful to cut or purposely draw blood during Jehdin-Jehdin, not to mention just plain childish to _bite_ her, when there were perfectly adult ways he could have retaliated, just taking the damn hit for one. Though, of course, he didn't respect her in the least, did he? Well if he was going to be that way, start fighting dirty, so was she.

Though he was wearing leg guards, there were weak spots in the thin armor. She had just enough room to draw up her knees and thrust upwards, driving her leg spines into the exposed back of his upper thighs.

Gav'e released both of her hands as he arched his back, roaring in pain.

While he was distracted, Veriea tucked her legs tightly into her chest and kicked as hard as she could into his stomach, cutting off his roar with an 'oof!' sound and then rolling backwards to rest on all fours, alert and waiting for his counter attack, though she winced as she realized she couldn't put too much weight on her left wrist. Gav'e seemed to be having a hard time getting up; it looked as though she'd injured his legs a little more than she had thought.

One thing was clear though – it was time to end this.

With a sickening 'crack' that echoed around the kehrite, much like her knuckle cracking had, she realigned her jaw and then leapt at Gav'e as he tried to find his feet, knocking him once more into the dirt floor.

"Do you yield?" She growled down at the pinned un-blood. He growled back, trying to throw her off. Veriea hung on and dug her talons into the meat of his shoulders, drawing another roar of pain from him. He tried to head-butt her but she pulled back in time. _"Do you yield?" _She repeated.

It didn't matter whether he did or not. She heard the cheering of the crowds as the honored warrior declared the end of the match with her as the winner. She looked up and saw Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha grinning and cheering form the side lines, heading out to meet her.

But she wasn't paying attention to Gav'e anymore so she didn't see the flash of fury in his eyes.

He eyes widened in shock as she felt it. The furious roaring of the crowd seemed far away as she looked down, seeing a cruel looking blade embedded in her stomach.

He'd stabbed her. The dishonorable bastard had actually had the guts to break the rules, bring a weapon onto the kehrite and stabbed her. Her blood began to pound through her veins with no regard for the wound in her belly, some dark, primal instinct starting to take over.

No one saw Gav'e's expression change to fear.

No one but him saw Veriea's eyes darken so quickly, until they were only shiny black orbs, like the eyes of the dead looking out at him.

In pure terror he thrust the knife upwards, the blade glancing off of her ribcage and slicing across her right breast as he threw her off. But she paid no attention to the gaping would across her abdomen. She wanted blood and she knew it was her right to kill him for breaking the rules of Jehdin-Jehdin.

Gav'e desperately tried to get up to run but his wounded legs wouldn't support him.

Veriea leapt on top of him, slicing her talons deeply across the backs of his knees, fully ham-stringing him, before driving them through his shoulders where she had started her work earlier. He actually screamed, a sort of squealing sound, until she had severed the nerves to his arms but he still continued to whimper.

She growled in satisfaction; just like all bullies, he was really a coward underneath the tough exterior. It was this thought that slowly brought her back form that primal place, until she could rationally think again. She glared down at him, knowing she should give him at least some chance to redeem himself, even if he didn't deserve it.

"You lost the battle, Gav'e," She hissed. "But losing wouldn't have been the end, just a lesson you were far too late in learning." She placed the forgotten blade back into his now near-useless hands. "Do the honorable thing. I won't dirty my hand with your filthy blood any further." And she got up and started walking away, seeing Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha running towards her.

It was then that the pain registered.

She looked down at her bloody stomach in something akin surprise and bewilderment, especially upon realizing that her blood was green now, like the yautja's. Then she noticed that something was poking out of the heavily bleeding wound. It was a small piece of her intestines.

That's when the world went dark.

End- Ch 6


	7. Interesting

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 7 – Interesting…

Veriea groaned as she opened her eyes just a crack, squinting against the brightness, wincing as the light stabbed painfully at the back of her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" A voice asked, accompanied by a blurry, familiar looking face.

"G're'e'cha?" She mumbled and was rewarded with a chuckle.

"No but close. G're'e'cha is one of my sons. He's told me a lot about you."

Veriea groaned again, remembering what G're'e'cha had said about his mother.

"That means I'm in the infirmary again, doesn't it?"

Another chuckle.

"Yes. It seems you're making quite a habit of getting your belly sliced open, young blood. But you seem to have the healing capabilities to handle it; this one is barely more than a scar already."

Something about that didn't sit right in Veriea's mind and she forced her body to sit upright and her vision to clear. Pushing away the blanket which was covering her, she looked down at her stomach, expecting to see the Healer's words to be a drastic exaggeration but her description was accurate; what she remembered as being a gaping, bloody wound was now only a long puckered mark, slightly crusted with a blue flaking substance, which she assumed had been a healing gel of some sort from its scent, stretching from her stomach, near her left hip, diagonally all the way up her abs, her rib cage, stopping and then starting again on the underside of her right breast. It was practically already healed and it was only a little tender as she prodded it, trying to make sure it was real. It didn't even register in her mind at the time that she was completely bare from the waist up. Her mind was too preoccupied with other things.

This was really _off._

She clearly remembered seeing that her innards had been protruding – even if only a little bit – and that meant that the knife had severed several layers of protective membrane, muscle, sinew and skin; how could all that have healed so well and so fast? Something like this should take at least a few weeks to heal to this standard and she didn't see anything else around her to indicate that she'd been here anywhere near_ that_ length of time.

"How long have I been here?" She asked, puzzled, still probing her new scar with wonder.

"A little over two turns." The healer answered, a little _too_ enthusiastically. "You missed the feasts; all the young blood parties are back and we'll reach the Homeworld in a few hours…" The healer continued but Veriea had only heard one thing.

2 days.

How could she have healed so much in _only 2 days?_

It simply didn't make sense.

How long had she taken to heal from the slice the kainde amedha had put in her belly? A week and a half Ma'e'ka'cha had said, and she had still need to heal the wound herself after that…" You're a really interesting subject, Ver'ei'a'ka'cha." The healer commented, interrupting her thoughts and not noticing Veriea flinch at the use of the word 'subject'. "Since the last time you were examined, you've completely changed and not just in appearance, G're'e'cha told me the story behind that. Your anatomy is almost _identical_ to that of a yautja now, on the inside at least. I personally find it fascinating, having the power to change one's form at will and the other abilities G're'e'cha told me about."

Veriea considered this female yautja speculatively. She looked very much like G're'e'cha, if you ignored that she was female, so it wasn't too hard for her to see how she had confused them when she had first awoken and to Veriea, she sounded quite like a super intelligent, hyperactive adolescent, her interest easily captured, accompanied by an obvious yearning for knowledge and understanding.

She couldn't resist grinning as she observed the female standing beside her bed, positively bursting with enthusiasm; she could see where G're'e'cha got his personality from.

"It's not as fun as it sounds," Veriea answered truthfully. "And I haven't been able to change since I started looking like this." She shivered and dragged the sheet back up to cover herself, realizing with a blush her state of undress and that it was rather chilly in the room, which was odd as previously she had been thinking that the temperature of the ship had been rather too high for her comfort and the humidity stifling. "Is it just me or is it really cold in here?"

The healer looked delighted.

"AHA! I was right! You now have the same temperature tolerance as yautja! Since the blood transfusion, your body must have been changing more and more to that of a yautja; you haven't even had trouble adjusting to our different atmosphere!"

Veriea figured she must have been right because she hadn't even noticed, aside from the humidity, the difference in what she had believed to be the air she was breathing. She gave the female yautja a calculating look.

"Are you _sure_ you're a Chi'de'a? 'Cause you sound like an I'ka'ga'ku on happy pills."

No sooner had she said the words than she clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had just said and to who. Shit.

But to her surprise (and immense relief) the female just trilled loudly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." Veriea apologized quickly.

"Ah, but you were thinking it. Unlike most yautja, I appreciate the honesty." The female quirked her mandibles in a smile. "Many of my colleagues believe I should have taken that path as well but my place is in Healing. Though, I do dabble in the sciences and even a little in the tasks of the Teki'ke'a."

The female handed Veriea her top, which appeared to have been mended. "You can put this back on now; the wound's healed enough so that you won't have to worry about the material sticking to it. The gel that's left can be washed off easily but it'll just peel off eventually anyway."

As Veriea pulled the top over her head and adjusted it, with only a slight twinge from her abdominal muscles, the female yautja moved off, apparently returning the room to regular temperature as she felt the air around her becoming warmer. The female had a way of walking that reminded her strongly of the bustling of a nurse.

Veriea shook her head softly, grinning to herself, finding that she instinctively liked this female. And yet both Ma'e'ka'cha and G're'e'cha had agreed that the females of the species were scarier and more dangerous.

_Maybe it's just from the male point of view? _She thought. Then she remembered the females from the gardens and reconsidered.

"I just wish my translator had been off before I said something so stupid." She sighed.

"You no longer have a translator." The female said, moving back over to her, a gleam in her eyes.

Veriea was non-pulsed, staring at the healer, her eyes wide. No translator?

"What? How…?"

"How can we understand each other? You're speaking yautjian and you seem to be understanding it as well." The yautja bared no resemblance what-so-ever specie-wise but the female still somehow managed to look like the proverbial canary-filled feline.

She continued. "While we were putting you back together we had to remove the translator devices because they was interfering with our other equipment, which was strange; it's our own technology after all. It seemed the devices were working at a higher capacity than they were supposed to but soon after their removal, they returned to normal. It had the Teki'ke'a completely baffled."

Her magic.

It had to be her magic.

It was the only thing she think of that might disrupt the normal processes of a piece of technology. Magic was after all, for the most part at least, energy. But that didn't explain her sudden fluency in yautjian. How was it possible that she now knew this language without having actually learned it? First her rapid healing and now this. Nothing was making sense, let alone conforming to the laws of nature.

"This doesn't make any sense." Veriea groaned, kneading her temples.

"No it doesn't." The female agreed.

"I _think_ I might know what happened to the translator but I'm not one hundred percent sure. There's still a lot about this stuff that I don't understand."

The healer looked at her expectantly and Veriea took a deep breath. "The stuff that I can do, the stuff G're'e'cha told you about, is because I have a thing that back home we called '_magic_'. Basically, it's like a kind of focused energy that can manipulate reality. _Supposedly_, as all living things conduct electricity – another form of energy – and already have a mild electrical current running through them at all times. In the case of beings with _magic_, they have a higher voltage of electricity in the body; I think maybe the translator just kind of _piggy-backed_ on that energy."

"_Piggy-backed_?" The female repeated, confused. "I think you slipped into ooman tongue for a moment there."

"Sorry. I think the translator was absorbing some of that energy from me – that would explain why it went back to normal after a while; it wasn't getting that extra energy anymore. About me suddenly knowing how to speak yautjian, I'm as confused as you are." Veriea quivered and shook her head a little. "C'jit. It feels so weird to be saying that in this language, as if ooman tongue is the foreign language to me."

The healer looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

Then Veriea realized something. "Wait, did I just say ooman as ooman?" She let out a squeak and clapped her hands to her mouth. "Ah! I can't say ooman properly! Oh, Gods, this is _really_ weird." Veriea groaned, drawing another bout of trilling laughter from the female yautja.

Just then, the door opened and a familiar, gold cloaked figure swept inside.

"Ah, Ver'ei'a, you're awake already? Our healer's done a good job of healing you?" The female asked, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Yes, a very good job, Thwei'a, thank you." Veriea said, returning the gesture and smiling inwardly at the shocked look on the healer's face.

The female Arbitrator quirked her mandibles in a soft smile.

"I'm glad you remember our agreement. I see they fixed your translator too; I heard they were having problem with it."

"Um, I don't actually _have_ a translator anymore. It seems I'm now fluent in yautjian." Veriea answered nervously, not sure what an Arbitrator might make of the strange events.

Thwei'a'aka raised an eyebrow.

"The work of these abilities Ma'e'ka'cha has told me about?" She asked.

"I honestly don't know but I suppose it _is_ a possibility. Since the blood transfusion my abilities have been doing strange new things."

"If that is the case, it is an interesting gift." Thwei'a'aka said thoughtfully.

"I thought the translator was quite convenient, actually. Amazing technology."

Veriea was sure she saw the Arbitrator smile.

"Well, now that you seem to be healed, I'm sure your clan mates are waiting to see you again."

"Yeah…." Veriea though of something. "What happened to Gav'e?"

Thwei'a'aka snarled.

"He died, dishonorably." She said with obvious distaste.

"Oh. Well, thank you for your concern, Thwei'a." She turned to the healer. "I just realized, I don't know your name."

"I am Kantra'a'de'a." The female smiled. Veriea placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you for watching over me, Kantra'a'de'a."

"Go, find your friends. They'll be pleased to know you're well and so soon; they bothered me enough about it." She answered with a laugh.

Veriea thumped a closed fist against her chest, a sign of respect she'd learned from Ma'e'ka'cha, and then left.

(^_^)

Kantra'a'de'a grinned at Thwei'a'aka.

"I need to encourage my boys to go after that one when mating season starts; just imagine the strong pups she'd produce. I really don't understand why some are still so against letting strong fighters into the warrior cast, especially ones like her. Under two turns to heal that great big gash – it would have laid most up for at least two weeks!"

Thwei'a'aka made a rude noise. "Oh, you're just sore because your favorite is her 'brother'. You _do_ have other sons you know…"

"Only you could get away with voicing such delusions, Kantra'a'de'a." The Arbitrator chuckled, shaking her head.

"You let her shorten your name." Kantra'a'de'a pointed out.

"Go back to your tinkering, sister." Thwei'a'aka smirked as she walked out the door.

(^_^)

Veriea was glad to return to her quarters but was disappointed to find them empty. She could have sworn she saw a couple of young bloods following her and though she knew she was probably just imagining things, she wasn't feeling up to confronting anyone, amorous or not.

The com-link behind her buzzed and she groaned inwardly.

She slammed a fist against the large red button, activating the link, glad that Ma'e'ka'cha had showed her how to use this before.

"Yeah?" She said, not bothering to present herself to the pin-sized camera or even look at the screen showing the feed from the other side.

"G're'e'cha?" A voice inquired.

"G're'e'cha isn't here, Ma'e'ka'cha neither."

Veriea could here a soft whispering filtering through the static, which sounded a lot like someone hissing; "what was the other guy's name again?"

She had to grin. At least they weren't looking for her.

"Ke'pt'e'cha?" The voice sounded uncertain and Veriea could not help but tease them.

"Guess again." She said, mustering her best 'evil' tone of voice.

"C'jit." The voice cursed, as if they had just realized something. "G're'e'cha, if you're playing games again…" A string of curses in a language she didn't understand issued forth. "We're here to talk about the pauk'de ship!" The speaker finished vehemently.

We? What ship?

Veriea decided the game wasn't that fun anymore; besides – her interest was peaked.

"I told you, G're'e'cha isn't here. This is Ver'ei'a'ka'cha." Veriea moved so that they would be able to see her and enjoyed their stunned looks on the view screen.

"Can we come in?" One of them asked after a moment.

"Only if you promise to teach me those swear words you used." She saw them grin to each other.

"Sure."

Veriea hit the door release. If they were going to swear at G're'e'cha like that she figured they must know him. And they knew about this ship thing and she wanted that info.

They were both just over 8 feet, both a dark grey with black speckles and both had red stripes on their crests. In fact, except for their scars, they were completely identical, right down to the brands on their brows marking them as members of the Guan-Thwei Clan.

_Must be twins._ Veriea thought as she watched them look her over. They both raised their eyebrows, silently asking. She knew what the question was; they weren't the first to be surprised by her small stature in light of her recent victory.

"Looks can be deceiving." She shrugged.

The one nearest to her was about to say something when someone behind them yelled.

"How did you get in here?"

Veriea recognized the voice and grinned.

"Hi, Ma'e." She said cheerfully, waving at her brother, from around her guests.

"Ver'ei'a?" Another voice inquired and G're'e'cha appeared from behind his friend.

"Hey, G're'e'cha."

"You're healed already?" He asked in surprise.

"I'm standing here aren't I?" G're'e'cha growled. "Hey, you ask a stupid question, you'll get a stupid answer; them's the rules."

"Ahem." One of the unknown warriors coughed. "Are you going to introduce us, little brother?"

"_Brother?_" It was Veriea's turn to be surprised. "I thought you said yautja don't usually keep family ties beyond parents?"

"Usually no. We're just weird that way." The other warrior grinned.

"Having met G're'e'cha, I can easily believe that."

"Hey!" G're'e'cha protested.

"You thanked me the last time I called you weird." Veriea smirked.

"Seeing as you're too busy blubbering, we'll introduce ourselves." The first warrior cut his brother off before he could reply. He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I'm H'ak'e'cha." His twin laid his hand on her other shoulder.

"And I'm S'ak'e'cha. Everyone knows who you are after that challenge. I've never seen someone fight with half their guts hanging out."

"Uh, thanks….I think…" She was quite sure she didn't remember _that._

"Are you two here about the ship?" Ma'e'ka'cha asked, interrupting the strange little world they had going. The twins nodded and let their hands drop away.

"What ship?" Veriea asked.

"In a few weeks we'll be Blooded warriors and then we can choose to go off on our own and hunt independently of the clan." Ma'e'ka'cha explained. We've been planning since before our Chiva to form a hunting party together but we need a ship of our own. H'ak'e'cha and S'ak'e'cha have found one but we're a little short and we need to get some more things to trade for it. If you pitch in, there's room for one more."

"Sounds like a plan but I don't know what I can contribute." Veriea like this idea, being among friends while she fully adjusted to her new life and being away from the majority of those who would make her life harder; yes she liked this idea a lot.

"People will pay quite a bit for the kind of healing you can do," G're'e'cha said. "Nothing we have is so quick or painless."

"Well, if you really think so, count me in."

H'ak'e'cha clapped her approvingly on the back, smirking.

"That ship is going to be ours in no time."

End-Chapter 7


	8. Of Pelts and Nightmares

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

Kict'pa: wrist blades

Awu'asa: armor

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 8 – Of Pelts and Nightmares

Veriea was distracted by everything around her.

It was all so bright and colorful and confusing.

And she drew quite a few stares herself.

"Come on, Ver'ei'a'ka'cha." H'ak'e'cha rapped his knuckles on the top of her head to get her attention, earning him a growl. That was the sixth time he had done that.

"If you keep doing that, I'm going to maim you." She snarled but kept moving to catch up with the rest of the group.

The market place was packed with yautja of every colour, pattern, shape, size and profession – as well as every variety of goods and services – she could imagine. In particular she noticed that the large pelts of blue, white and violet-striped furs seemed to be especially prized; if the haggling being done over them was any indication.

"They're Ch'pek't pelts; the fiercest and most vicious beasts on the planet. Their meat is highly prized and the blood had many uses. They're so strong that no one has ever taken one down with less than four in a hunting party – six for a female – and no one has every seen their young; some say they are demons, made fully grown from the moment of birth, even if they bleed well enough. Very intelligent things, they are, too – though, of course, the kainde amedha are still a better hunt." H'ak'e'cha said, noticing where her wandering attention had gone and bringing it back to the group as they stopped, finding a good location to set up. "And you _wouldn't _maim_ me_." He added smugly, answering her earlier threat.

"And why's that?" Veriea challenged, tapping her foot in agitation.

He leaned down, grinning from crest to crest as he whispered in her ear;

"I know where your 'sweet spot' is." He clattered, almost evilly, tickling _the_ spot behind her left ear and then dancing away to avoid getting her claws in his face.

"_G're'e'cha!_" She snarled, storming towards the unsuspecting yautja.

"What?" He looked up from what he was doing only to get swiped across the face, Veriea's claws leaving 4 brilliant green slashes across his cheek. "Pauk! What was that for?" He cursed, rising to his full height menacingly.

"You told H'ak'e'cha about my _spot_!" She growled, undaunted.

Suddenly, G're'e'cha looked a bit guilty and slouched back down.

"Oh. _That_." He said with a sheepish grin.

"Yes _that_." She spat.

"No reason to try and claw my face off." He said sulkily.

"Oh, I think it's a _very_ good reason…" She growled, flexing her fingers threateningly, as if itching to hit him again.

"Well, now we have our demonstration." H'ak'e'cha trilled, obviously pleased with the mayhem he had caused. Both Veriea and G're'e'cha glared at him. "What? You probably wouldn't have hit him unless you were mad at him."

"Maybe I should hit _you_ as well, more demonstrations?" Veriea said, not pleased to have been played.

"Nah, G're'e will be enough." He chuckled.

Veriea narrowed her eyes at him, her pupil contracting to slits.

Then she kicked him in the shin.

And the other three males doubled over laughing as H'ak'e'cha danced around holding his leg. "Pauk!" He growled, surprised at just how hard she could kick. "It's not funny!" He snarled at G're'e'cha, who was laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing.

"Are we going to start the demonstration soon then?" Veriea asked cheerfully, rather pleased now that she had gotten her own back on both offending males.

Still grumbling a little, though knowing he probably deserved it, H'ak'e'cha made his pitch to the crowds.

Veriea healed G're'e'cha as demonstration of the service they were offering.

Then the Customers flooded in.

(^_^)

Veriea was very relieved when a message arrived for her telling her that her presence was required for her amour fitting. With promises to the crowd that she would return for more healing another day, she slipped away, following the directions she'd been given to a hut that reminded her very much of a medieval black smith's.

As she approached, she heard someone roar in pain and quickly entered.

Veriea stealthily crept forward until she could see what was going on; two large males appeared to be forcefully negotiating with a very small female. The female's upper left mandible and cheek were bleeding.

"Listen, runt!" One of the males barked angrily, "These pelts are more than worth the repairs."

Veriea eyed the pelts in question. After spending half the day watching her friends haggle over items to be traded for her healing services, she knew that these males were trying to cheat this female big time, without even having to see the 'repairs'; she wouldn't have healed a sore pinky for those pelts.

"'Hese 'hel's are wor'hless!" (these pelts are worthless) The female hissed bravely, though her speech was marred quite a bit by the injured mandible.

The male raised his fist…

"Hey!" The males turned and she stepped forward.

If there was one thing she _loathed_ more than anything else, it was when a people tried to get their way by beating someone else up – particularly when it was a female or a smaller person – and especially when the one being beaten up was right. She had seen far too much of this behavior in her life, as well as being on the receiving end of it, for it not to rile her and she was _not_ going to stand here and do nothing. "She's right; those pelts are worthless, just like their owners."

The males smirked.

"This is between us and the runt. Unless you want a beating as well, I suggest you leave now, _pet._"

Ooooo. You did not just call me that.

"Is that a threat?" She asked lazily.

"Yes, it is." The male growled.

"Well, in that case – "

Before they knew what was happening, Veriea had planted her hands on the ground between the two males and thrust upwards, gaining enough height to kick both males in their lower jaw (A/N: they don't actually_ have_ chins, remember), snapping their heads back and then she tucked and rolled into a crouch between them and the female. "That was a warning, boys." She growled.

The male who had been threatening her stepped forward menacingly, enraged but the other male grabbed his shoulder. He pointed at her and clicked something at his friend that was too soft for her to catch. With a snort from the first male, they turned and left.

Veriea relaxed and stood, dusting of her hands, glad she hadn't actually had to fight them; she was weary from all the healing she had done. Not to mention that it had mostly been a bluff – she didn't really think she could have taken on one of the males, let alone both. She turned to the female with a smile. "I hate it when males think they can pick on you just 'cause you're small."

The female snorted in disgust.

Veriea assumed that was in agreement. "I'm –"

"I know who you are." The female cut her off. "Why 'ii' you hel' me?" (why did you help me?) She asked, staring at her piercingly.

"It was the honorable thing to do." Veriea answered, wondering what she had done that was making the female yautja treat her as if she was as bad as the males who had been bullying her. "I'm sorry if I offended you or anything, but arrogant males piss me off and there seems to be an abundance of those here."

The female smirked.

_That's better,_ Veriea thought as the female placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm Kain'e'a'ke'a. 'Hank you for 'heh hel'; 'hose 'hoo always 'hry 'hoo ri' me off." (I'm Kainde'a'ke'a. Thank you for the help; those two always try to rip me off.) She moved away, walking amongst the piles of metal and Veriea noticed that her dreadlocks were speckled with grey, a sign that the female was older than she looked. "You're here for your armor 'hoo 'ee fi'eh. Ihe'll 'ee 'ifficul' 'eecause of your size and sha'e." (You're here for your armor to be fitted. It'll be difficult because of your size and shape.) She called, sifting through the piles. "You go' a yau'ja sha'e 'un' 'heh size of an ooman. Goo' 'hing I've ma'eh armor for 'hem 'eefore." (You've got a yautja shape but the size of an ooman. Good thing I've made armor for them before.) The female chatted happily, despite her injury and speech impediment.

"You've met oomans?" Veriea asked curiously, still quite surprised that humans had been accepted into this culture as she had.

"One ooman." Kainde'a'ke'a answered. "Haven' seen her for a long 'hime 'hough. I've only seen abou' five in my 'hime 'uh' 'hree of 'hose were pe'hs. I don' 'hink 'hehere are any in 'hiss ci'hy 'hough, if you were ho'hing 'hoo mee'h one." (Haven't see her for a long time though. I've only seen about five in my time but three of those were pets. I don't think there are any in this city though, if you were hoping to meet one.)

"No, I've met enough humans to last me a life time." Veriea said, looking around the place. The walls were covered in beautifully designed armor and weaponry, much of it intricately decorated. The female reappeared, holding a few pieces. "Do you make all this yourself?" Veriea asked.

"Yeah, don' ge'h enough for i'h 'hough." She gingerly touched the wound on her cheek. "If I wasn' so goo' a'h wha'h I 'oo, someone woul'h have 'haken me ou'h a long 'hime ago." (Yeah, don't get enough for it though. If I wasn't so good at what I do, someone would have taken me out a long time ago.)

"Here, let me look at that." Veriea said gently, thinking that she should have offered to do so earlier; it looked rather painful. Kainde'a'ke'a let her and was surprised when Veriea healed the injury.

"So the rumors are true." The Teki'ke'a murmured, her speech no longer impaired, flexing the healed mandible.

"I suppose they are." Veriea smiled as the female began taking her measurements and comparing some pieces against her arms. "Who's paying for all this exactly?"

"The Elder, Ka'e'aka. Usually unbloods will get their own _before_ the Kainde Amedha Chiva because they need to train with it and only very little and not quite as good as this lot but you are obviously a special case." Kainde'a'ke'a chuckled. "You'll be able to take most of your weapons and equipment today but you'll have to come back tomorrow for you kict'pa and to get your awu'asa cast; they'll need to be customized to you. You're mask and computer might take up to a week or so though. No mask shape I have will fit you with those ears and because you don't have mandibles, we'll have to rearrange the controls that normally go in the mask."

"You sound like you really know what you're doing." Veriea commented.

"Of course," She responded. "I'm one of the best."

(-_-)

(-)

She was running.

All around her everything was in flames, explosions nearby sending shrapnel flying though the air, a dull roaring in her ears.

A head of her a large, silver, winged form clawed at a wall.

"We're through!" Silvashadow bugled, after what seemed like an age. "Hurry Vee!" They called over their shoulder.

Behind her, she did not see what hit her barrier but the following explosion shattered it, the recoil of power lashing back at her at the same time she felt a great pain in her chest and back. Veriea fell, crying out. Silvashadow started towards her but a second explosion, this one outside, cause the roof to fall in, separating them.

Veriea could only just hear the roar of fury as they began to attack the debris. She could see the claws digging at the top of the pile, just visible through the gap beneath what remained of the roof. Pain grabbed attention again as she tried to breath and she looked down at her chest. Blood was gushing from around a metal pipe that was sticking out of her chest, just beneath her collar bone. She tugged at the pipe weakly and was rewarded with a flash of agony through her entire upper torso as metal scrapped against bone, her heart and left lung jerking jarringly with the pipe's movement.

Her heart. So much blood pulsing from her body in time to its beat. The coppery tang of blood on her tongue. Those signs and her darkening vision all told her what she needed to know. How she was still conscious, still thinking, she couldn't guess. She could hear Cobolt's voice, floating through her mind as if far, far away.

"Come on Silva! She's gone!"

_I'm not gone yet but I will be soon. Gone, gone, gone..._

"NO!" Came Silvashadow's enraged roar. "She's still alive! We can _save_ her!"

The pain in her chest clawed at her as each breath, each feeble beat of her heart brought flashes of agony.

She called for Silva, her Soul Mate, lost in the pain.

Then the blackness took over and she heard herself screaming.

She was dying.

(-)

Veriea jolted awake, breathing hard as the dream faded.

The tenth one this week.

She whimpered softly to herself. Why did she have to have these dreams, nightmares? This was all behind her now, gone, dead and buried. She didn't want to remember.

Well, maybe there was_ one_ thing she wanted to remember.

With a tiny thread of energy, she reached out and pulled a small metal object from seemingly nowhere, letting it fall into her hands. She had only just begun to learn this kind of magic before her capture, something she should probably focus on improving now that she had the time and opportunity – it was such a useful skill after all – but she was glad to have achieved enough proficiency for this at least. How many times in the last weeks had she been thankful to have access to this one small object? It was only a set of dog-tags on a ball-bearing chain, the cheap kind you could buy and get engraved at just about any local show – but it was her most precious possession.

She traced the word slowly with a finger tip.

"_Veriea_". The name she had chosen for herself, the one she now lived by. Her link to her truest friend, who had a matching set of tags with the name "_Silvashadow_".

Veriea sighed and though she deeply missed her friend, pushed the thoughts away. It wouldn't do to dwell on what she'd lost; no doubt her friend thought her long dead and gone.

It had been 3 weeks since they had arrived on the Homeworld.

She had all her armor and weaponry now and even her mask and computer. She had met K'ar'e'cha for training only 2 weeks ago and to everyone's surprise, including her own, she had excelled quickly and astoundingly, as if she had used the weapons and had trained her entire life as they had.

She could not explain the instinctive knowledge and familiarity she had felt when she had first taken the Hiju stance against the Clan Leader's third in command in the training kehrite, the original intention – to see how much she already knew and what needed to be taught, honed and perfected – quickly becoming, for K'ar'e'cha at least, a situation in which extreme defensive maneuvers were needed in order to remain in tact. After a thorough testing of her 'skills' over the course of the day, the Honored Warrior had simply stated that training with him could not further her aptitude, that it would be a waste of both their time and that he had not seen a finer hand at her range of weaponry since her sire.

Her abilities confused her because she knew for a fact that she had never seen let alone handled weapons and equipment like this before in her life. The techniques and automatic responses to the combat situation were ones she knew she had not learned in any of her training prior to her induction to the yautja society. Like her acquired knowledge of the yautja language, she found it perplexing, some what creepy even, yet she accepted it in her stride – no need to look a gift horse in the mouth; particularly since it helped through all of the challenges.

Since her presence had become common knowledge through out the city, she had had no less than 30 challenges to Jehdin-Jehdin. Many, it seemed, wanted to prove she was not worthy and not only among un-bloods. Though it came close many times, she lost none of the fights, having to resort to killing at least 3 blooded and young bloods when specifically challenged to the death. She couldn't bring herself to keep count after the third. After around a week the challenges came less vehemently, though usually at least one a day and currently they were trickling through now and then; she figured the challengers were more interested in how they would fare against her than seeing her as vermin so much now. She seemed to have made some impression along the lines of 'I'm here to stay so you bloody well better get used to it'.

In the past 3 weeks, as well as becoming good friends with Kainde'a'ke'a, they had made more than enough in the market place to obtain the ship and tomorrow they would finally be moving in; which was rather a good thing as their room on the main ship had started to become crowded. After closing the deal on the ship, the twins had moved into the same quarters as the others and five sets of Awu'asa, weapons and trophies were not meant to occupy one room. As a result, 2 members of the group had to resort to hammocks; Veriea had willingly volunteered and S'ak'e'cha had drawn the other short straw.

Veriea pulled herself back into the present.

"Well, at least I didn't fall out of the hammock this time." She muttered darkly to herself.

"Ver'ei'a?" A gruff voice inquired softly.

Reflexively she Vanished the dog-tags.

"Yeah?" She guessed it was S'ak'e'cha by the gently swinging of the hammock next to hers.

"You alright? You were talking in your sleep and you sounded…upset."

"It was just a bad dream." She answered off handedly, hoping he'd leave it alone .

"The kainde amedha?" He sounded sympathetic. Did yautja dream and have nightmares too? Probably.

"No, an old friend that was…lost." Veriea really didn't want to talk about it.

"You've been having these dreams all week…" So he had heard her.

Crap.

"When in the Dark and Alone, our Fears come out to hunt." She quipped, not sure if they were her own words or if she had heard or read them some where. She sighed. "Sorry I woke you."

"Move over." He growled and the side of her hammock dipped alarmingly as he climbed in next to her. "Maybe if you aren't alone we can _both_ get some sleep." He explained, cutting off her flustered spluttering.

"I – um..." She sighed again. "Thanks."

He patted her on the shoulder comfortingly, rolled over and promptly fell asleep.

Veriea, however, didn't fall asleep straight away.

She didn't feel quite so comfortable with someone else in her hammock with her. She thought back to when she had crept into Ma'e'ka'cha's bed after a nightmare, seeming so long ago now. Sure it was the same thing but he was her _brother_. Kind of. Sort a…Ok, so it was the same thing; she just didn't feel quite so comfortable with the others as she did with Ma'e. And considering – no, she would not even think about _that_. She was safe here, they were her _friends_…and that night _had_ been the best sleep she had had in a very long time…

Veriea forced herself tense body to relax and inched a bit closer to S'ak'e'cha, who was quite the blanket hog, for warmth. Tamping down her instinctive misgivings about the situation, she eventually drifted off.

And she did not dream.

End Ch 8 -


	9. Little White Flag

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

Ki'ct-pa: wrist blades

Awu'asa: armor

Cn'tlip: alcoholic drink

ki'its-pa: hunting spear

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 9 – Little White Flag

Veriea slowly woke to the sound of purring in her ear and a weight on her shoulder.

Someone was in the hammock next to her.

The realization hit her and she immediately went rigid but as the fog of sleep disappeared, she remembered last night, that it was only S'ak'e'cha and relaxed again. After having her first decent, dreamless sleep in a week, she was glad she had such good friends; she doubted that most yautja would have done the same thing for her. She tried to stretch her limbs but froze as she noticed something.

There was a hand in her top.

And it was grabbing her breast.

(o.O)

Ma'e'ka'cha woke to a pained yelp, a heavy thud and a strange musk in the room. He didn't understand what was happening but there was one hell of a lot of yelling going on.

Someone, who sounded rather scared, was saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I swear!" over and over again, while another was pretty much just yelling a string of insults, profanities and curses, most of which sounded like they were in several different languages.

Two more yelps occurred in quick succession followed by a lot of banging and clanking, another yelp and he sat up just in time to see a flash of movement as the bathroom door slammed shut.

"What's going on?" He mumbled sleepily.

Then he saw the room.

Awu'asa, weapons and trophies were strewn around everywhere in disarray, H'ak'e'cha and G're'e'cha were sitting bolt upright in their bed, looking as confused as he was and in the middle of the mess sat S'ak'e'cha, tangled in a mass of blankets, looking very sorry for himself with a massive black eye starting to form on the left side of his face.

"What the…?" H'ak'e'cha muttered.

"I didn't mean to!" S'ak'e'cha moaned pitifully. "I didn't know she was coming into heat, I swear!"

"What? What are you talking about?" His twin asked. "What-" He sniggered. "What happened to your eye?"

"Wait, where's Ver'ei'a?" G're'e'cha asked, getting up.

"In the bathroom." S'ak'e'cha answered in a small voice. "Probably deciding how to kill me."

"And _why_ does she want to kill you?" Ma'e'ka'cha asked, his tone dangerous as he too got out of his bed.

The crestfallen yautja wouldn't look at them.

"What did you do?" G're'e'cha asked angrily.

"It wasn't my fault!" He insisted.

"We'll be the judge of that, now what did you do?" G're'e'cha repeated.

S'ak'e'cha sighed.

"She's been having bad dreams all week and waking me up and last night she sounded really upset and when I asked her about it she said something about fear and being alone so I, well, offered to comfort her by sleeping in the hammock with her so we could both get some sleep and when I woke up this morning I was- um…fondling her –I swear on my honor, I didn't mean to!" He rushed it all out in a single breath.

Silence was held for a moment.

"What did she do?" Ma'e'ka'cha asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"She was _really_ pissed." S'ak'e'cha said, his mandibles twitching nervously. "She punched me at first, then she yelled at me…slapped me and then kicked me…yelled at me some more, grabbed all her stuff…kicked me again, yelled some more and then stormed in the bathroom." He paused, quivering. "I think she's dulling the blades so it'll hurt more."

Another silence.

"Was it worth it?" H'ak'e'cha asked, smirking. S'ak'e'cha hit him.

"Pauk! Don't even joke about it! I could have-" He couldn't voice the dishonorable act. He liked Veriea; the last thing he wanted was for her to be mad at him, especially for something like this. _Pauk'de hormones!_ He thought bitterly. "I've seen females really pissed off before but…she was _scary_. Like starring-into-the-face-of-a-Kainde-Amedha-Queen-with-nothing-but-you-skin scary. She must be in heat."

"She can't be, it's another week until mating season starts." G're'e'cha said.

"But she's not completely yautja. Maybe the furry things breed more often?" Ma'e'ka'cha suggested.

There was a 'swish' sound behind them and they all turned to see Veriea standing in the bathroom doorway, fully armored and armed. They could smell the anger rolling off of her and, three of them at least, could tell that the earlier assumptions were correct.

"If any of you follow me," She flicked out her ki'cti-pa to full length for emphasis and tilted her head to look at them. "You get your testicles relocated." And then she left.

Yet another silence followed.

"Definitely in heat." G're'e'cha sighed.

"I couldn't tell…" Ma'e'ka'cha murmured, confused.

"_You're_ her brother, remember? Blood link."

"Yeah, well, we should probably go after her…"

S'ak'e'cha whimpered at the thought of confronting their enraged friend at this point in time, G're'e'cha looked the other way, finding a spot on the wall incredibly interesting and H'ak'e'cha sat back down on his bed, flatly refusing.

"No. Way. Me and my reproductive organs aren't going anywhere _near_ that female. I like _my_ testicles right where they are."

(o_O)

"Why am I coming with you again?" Kainde'a'ke'a asked as an extremely angry and heavily armed Veriea pulled her along to an unknown destination.

"Because males are jerks and I need you to explain some things to me before I go and open a specific male's arteries. And I don't want said male, or any other male for that matter, to interrupt us or I might open up some arteries anyway. And I like you. You're nice and arty, like me. In short, I'm angry, confused and in desperate need of girl-time and I consider you to be my best friend."

Kainde'a'ke'a was stunned for a moment, surprised but also pleased that Veriea cared so much about her. She also wondered how Veriea had said so many things so quickly without taking a breath.

"I take it you're mad at a male then?" She asked once she had found her voice.

Veriea growled by way of answer. "I also take it that you were unaware, until now, that you are in heat?"

This brought a sudden pause in the head long dash, almost causing the yautja to crash into the other female and Veriea looked at her, obviously surprised but they were soon moving again. They were approaching the ship yard, where all the privately owned ships were docked.

They paused momentarily at the gates as Veriea asked for a specific ship. She must have had a mess-with-me-and-you-will-_so_-regret-it look because the warriors on guard quickly found the dock she was looking for and in under 10 seconds they were off again before any mention of her condition could be made, though when she looked back, Kainde'a'ke'a could see them peering after them. They found the ship, a sleek, 6-man hunting vessel, most of the luxuries, with the Guan- Thwei clan symbol painted on the hull in heat reflective paint and which seemed to be named _The Cn'tlip_. Kainde'a'ke'a found herself hauled aboard and thought she could finally stop and get some answers when Veriea asked how to change the access codes.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to steal the ship or anything; I'm not _that_ angry. Or stupid." Veriea said, seeing her friend's suspicious look. "Me and my friends all put in for this ship. Besides, I don't know how to fly it. I just don't want anyone to get in for a while."

After changing all the access codes _and_ override codes, Veriea finally seemed to relax some what and lead Kainde'a'ke'a to what she soon claimed as her room. Kainde'a'ke'a watched as, in a confusing display of childishness, Veriea dumped everything on the floor, removing all her armor, and leapt onto the bed, giggling as she bounced a bit and then rolling onto her back, tossing a pillow up into the air and catching it with both hands and feet and then hugging it. "Mmmm...my territory…" She purred happily, like a contented kitten, wriggling further down into the mattress. She hadn't minded sharing with the boys but it felt good to have some space to call her own.

Kainde'a'ke'a just shook her head, completely baffled by the other female's odd behavior.

"You're acting like a pup." She chuckled.

"I'm acting like _me_." Veriea answered, looking at her and grinning. "It's been a long time since I could. I had to grow up real fast and I miss being me; I've always been a kid at heart, really." She seemed to consider for a moment. "Just blame it on the hormones."

"What about this male issue?" The yautja asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You said you needed me to explain a few things."

Veriea's playfulness evaporated, her expression sobering.

"Is it considered acceptable for a male to, er…_fondle_ a female without permission?"

"No." Kainde'a'ke'a said firmly, growling a little, wondering who had had the nerve to press themselves on her. She forced herself to remain calm though. Veriea was seeking her advice; perhaps things weren't as clear-cut as that. "But maybe you should explain the situation?"

Veriea told her and she laughed, mostly with relief.

"Ah, I see." She smirked. "Taking into account that you're in heat but didn't realize it until I mentioned it to you, I would say it started quite recently, probably while you were asleep. In our race, males are very strongly affected by the musk of a female in heat, so much so that his body would have reacted on its own. If he was an…experienced…male, the situation would most like have been a familiar one and I believe the oomans have a saying; 'old habits die hard'. I very much doubt the male in question knew what was going on. I would think that he cared for you quite a bit, though. Males are not usually so affectionate, nor do they normally accept females into their hunting parties; it tends to create too much rivalry and jealousy if a female should favor one male more than the others."

"I suppose I can forgive him then; I already got him back pretty good." She giggled, imagining the black eye she must have left. Her ears twitched. "Do you hear something?"

Kainde'a'ke'a listened for a moment.

"It's coming from outside."

Quickly they made their way to the bridge and looked out to see several males out side, a few of which were fighting.

"Pauk." Veriea cursed softly. "How is it people always find you when you don't want to be found?"

"They probably just followed your scent." Kainde'a'ke'a looked at the males more closely. "Sy'ua, there are some _honored_ warriors out there; you have a really good selection to pick a mate from."

"I don't want a mate…and why are some of them holding trophies?"

Her friend raised an eyebrow at her.

"You really don't know how this works, do you?"

"I know _it_ works – gods, I'm not _that_ young – but no one has gone and handed me the '_Yautja Guild to Mating Rituals_' handbook, no." Veriea sat down in the captains chair exasperatedly, which was really far to big for her comparatively tiny frame.

The boys had been talking about 'mating season' for weeks now but – even in light of Ma'e'ka'cha's comment, nearly a month ago now – she really hadn't expected or even thought that she would have to deal with something like _this_. Especially after all the challenges she'd received.

Or did that make her more desirable?

Gods, her head hurt.

She kneaded her temples for a moment, trying to calm down so she could tackle this rationally. "Please explain to me how this works." She groaned, rubbing sleep gunk from her eyes.

Kainde'a'ke'a took a seat, getting comfortable.

"Alright." She said, way too pleased for Veriea's liking. "Over five weeks every rotation, all the females go into heat. Same time during every rotation and pretty much all the hunters return for it. Mating season doesn't actually start until next week but I guess things are going to be different for you; probably something to do with your original form."

"Pauk. If I have to go through this four times a year, I may just kill myself."

"That often, huh? I envy you."

The Teki'ke'a smirked at Veriea's dark look and irritated mumble, which sounded like "Lucky me…" She smiled at that. "Anyway, the males usually decide who they want to go after before hand – strong females get the most offers – and the males will either bring their best trophies to impress the female or fight other males for her."

"But what if they aren't hunters?" Veriea asked, confused. Imposing as they were, she couldn't imagine one of the healer males going toe to toe with one of the hunters she'd seen and actually come out on top.

"Only hunter males are allowed to mate, to keep the blood lines strong. That's why you mostly see females or really old yautja in the other professions rather than young males." Kainde'a'ke'a explained. "If the female isn't impressed enough by the trophies or fights, they'll fight the female herself – that doesn't usually happen – but the final decision is always up to the female."

"What if the female doesn't want a mate? Or already has one?"

"If a female already has a mate, she will leave a stick with a piece of material tied to it outside her home; huntresses use their ki'its-pa. Even if a female has a mate, though, another male might challenge him. Only Life Mates can't be challenged. Pregnant females are forbidden to participate in hunts, by the way."

Veriea noticed that she hadn't answered her first question.

"And if a female doesn't _want_ a mate?" She insisted.

"Why wouldn't you want a mate?"

For a moment the two females started at each other in silence. Then Veriea spoke.

"I…I just don't want one." She said, looking away.

"If you aren't happy with the males here, I'm sure more will-"

"It's not the males." Veriea cut her off. "I'm sure they're all brilliant hunters and would make good mates for any female but…_I don't want a mate._"

Kainde'a'ke'a looked at her for a long time, trying to figure her out. She threw up her hands in frustration and was about to tell Veriea what she thought of people who didn't appreciate what they had when something in her friend's eyes made her stop.

If someone had told her that Veriea was afraid of males, she would have laughed in their face. Ver'ei'a'ka'cha, the little female warrior who had beaten most of the warriors in the lower ranks bloody? The little female who had killed a kainde amedha with her bare hands? Afraid of _males_?

The idea was more than laughable.

But here was the proof, an unexplained deepness in her eyes; something about taking a mate positively terrified Veriea.

Kainde'a'ke'a sighed.

"I don't know Ver'ei'a. I've never known an available female to just go and say they don't want a mate; it's an honor to give raise to the next generations, that's why females are so respected. Pauk, I don't look it but I'm past my child baring years and even _I_ still accept mates."

"You can't be that old!" Veriea exclaimed.

"One hundred and sixty-seven rotations." Kainde'a'ke'a smirked. "In ooman years that makes me roughly three hundred and eighty; that's not _very_ old by our standards but old enough."

There was another silence as Veriea processed this information.

"You said 'available females'." She murmured. "What defines a female to be 'unavailable'?"

"Females with life mates, those who are pregnant or those with sucklings in their care, thought it's very unlikely that anyone would have a sucklings in their care at this point in the rotation."

"And how does one signal this?"

"The same way as having a mate but with two strips of material two show that there are two within the home. Why?"

"Mmm…." Veriea purred, tapping her chin. "A strip off the sheets aught to do…"

"What?" Kainde'a'ke'a was confused. "You don't have a Life Mate, you don't have a youngling – let alone a suckling – and you certainly aren't pregnant."

"So?" Veriea answered, quickly going into her room. The sound of ripping reached Kainde'a'ke'a's ears and a moment later Veriea emerged with two strips of white in one hand and her ki'its-pa in the other.

"Don't you think they'll realize that you aren't pregnant, that you don't have even a normal mate and therefore can't possibly have a suckling?" The Teki'ke'a asked, ticking off the points on her fingers as Veriea tried the strips to her spear, crossing over to the air lock.

"Probably but what are they going to do about it?" She said over her shoulder, hitting the lock release and punching in the code.

When the outer door opened, Veriea wished she hadn't taken off all her armor. She could practically _smell_ the testosterone as all eyes focused on her; she grimaced as she realized that actually probably _was_ what the scent on the air was. A few males moved forward and she held up a hand. They stopped. She didn't waste time lowering the ramp and instead crouched and drove the end of her ki'its-pa into the ground by the 'doorway'.

She could easily sense the shock and surprise from the warriors as they saw the white marked spear. "Sorry boys." She shrugged and quickly disappeared back inside as she felt the shock starting to erode and some anger starting to rise.

Kainde'a'ke'a was shaking her head, looking out as Veriea returned to the bridge, watching as some of the males started to leave, thought they were obviously aggravated and not happy about it.

"I can't _believe _that actually _worked_." She said, smirking.

(-_-)

Veriea and Kainde'a'ke'a were laughing, lounging on the bridge floor, having found a very generous secret stash of cn'tlip on board and were exchanging humorous stories when a loud beeping sound interrupted them.

"Yo." Veriea giggled, hitting the com-link button as she dragged herself up for the camera.

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha?" Ma'e'ka'cha's face asked on the screen, looking rather concerned and nervous. "Are you alright? You've changed all the access code for the ship…"

She giggled again.

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry Ma'e, my kill mode is over so you and the boys can move your stuff in. You need not fear for your testicles." Behind her, Kainde'a'ke'a snorted, squashing a laugh.

She was considerably more inebriated than Veriea as it seemed that although she was larger, she had less tolerance for the strong alcohol.

"You're acting kind of…strange…and who's in there with you? Did you get a mate?"

"Nooooo." She drawled, rolling her eyes. "God only knows why you attribute my happiness to the presence, or lack there of, of a male between my thighs – maybe you didn't see the little white flags by the door? – but I do know that you're killing my good mood so get your collective butts up here before I change my mind."

She punched in the access code. "I happen to have a very good friend up here that could probably show me how to fly this thing, so don't tempt me to take it for a joy ride –I found the cn'tlip stash, by the way."

There was a moment of static while Ma'e'ka'cha seemed to be talking to someone out of view.

"S'ak'e'cha says he's really sorry for what happened and wants to know if you're still mad at him."

"No, I'm not. Kainde'a'ke'a explained the whole female-in-heat-musk thing to me and I forgive him. He just better not do it again if he knows what's good for him. Besides, I want to see that shiner I gave him so get up here already. I'm getting an itch to fly!" She cackled evilly and shut off the com-link.

They didn't disappoint her. They came through the air lock, loaded with all their things, obviously having come prepared, and even thought they were wearing their masks, she knew they were eyeing her warily. "Second door on the right is mine." She warned them.

Once things were sorted out Veriea made her wishes clear; she was not going to be taking a mate and if at any time she discovered any of them fighting over her in anyway about anything, she would neuter the offender.

Then she zeroed in on S'ak'e'cha, who had left his mask on. "Take it off." Veriea grinned.

"Do I have to?" S'ak'e'cha groaned.

"I won't heal it if you don't show me and I won't help you if you get hurt next week either."

Sighing, he took off the mask, revealing the swollen, multi-coloured left half of his face.

Fluorescent green blood really did make for interesting bruises.

"Oh, I got you _good!_" She beamed. "That must have been my best punch _ever._"

(^_^)

Veriea sat in the captains chair putting the last finishing touches on her hunting mask and armor. She'd borrowed the etching tools from Kainde'a'ke'a 5 weeks ago, just before mating season had started, so that she would have something to do while she bravely hid from the male population en masse.

The boys were currently off 'having fun' and she been determined not to have them worry about her being alone, so it was as good an excuse as any to get her armor decorated.

She smiled as she looked over her work.

She'd brightened up the solid black mask by etching the same red stripes on it that marked her face, along with her clan symbol. She had finished all of her arm and leg pieces with blue high-lights but was still working on the chest plate. The lower part of the piece was decorated with a few blue tiger stripes and the right half was a mix of red and blue but the left half, the part that would go over her heart, needed something different, something significant.

A loud beep interrupted her thoughts and she sighed; one of the guys had forgotten the access code. Again.

She punched in the code and went back to inspecting the chest plate thoughtfully. The air lock hissed and she turned, still looking at the plate.

"You know, if you lot didn't spend absolutely _all_ you time chasing females, you might be able to remember one measly…" Her voice trailed off as she realized that it wasn't one of the boys; it was Elder Ka'e'aka.

She jumped up, the chest plate clattering to the floor. "Apologies Elder, I thought you were one of my crew mates."

"Understandable." He chuckled. He picked up the plate and examined it closely before handing it back to her. "This is very good, very detailed. If you were a Teki'ke'a, you could make quite a lot for that kind of work. The left half still needs something though."

"I was thinking the same thing myself, Elder." She said as she set the plate aside, inwardly glowing from the praise.

"I've heard that you haven't taken a mate and was wondering why." He said, surprising her. "Mating season is very nearly over and it is a right of passage for a warrior. You can not be a fully Blooded warrior until you have contributed to the next generation; that is the law."

Veriea looked up at him, trying to think of a satisfactory answer, a way to explain her reasons. She knew he was only concerned for her, just as any father would be.

"I'm just not...ready…for mates yet, Elder." She said truthfully. "I'm still so new to this world; I still need some more adjustment time."

He quirked his mandibles in a gentle smile, seeming content with that answer.

"I also came to return this; I haven't had time before now and thought you would probably be leaving as soon as mating season finishes." He held out a spiraling, bracelet-like object. He noticed her flinch as she took it but did not mention it.

"Thank you, Elder. I was wondering what had happened to it." She said smoothly. "Thank you also for my equipment; Teki'ke'a Kainde'a'ke'a told me that you paid for everything."

"Is that what she said?" The Elder smirked for a moment to himself. "I'm sorry I didn't get to see you after your victory but I did see the fight. I am honored that you fought so valiantly in my name. A shame about the un-blood." He started to leave.

"I heard he died dishonorably."

"Yes, Arbitrator Thwei'a'aka had to finish him. He was raving, cursing you as a black-eyed demon and wouldn't touch the knife. But you've had many honorable challengers since then, I believe. I am proud to call you my daughter."

With a hiss of the air lock he was gone.

Veriea placed the bracelet on the floor and calmly brought her foot down on it, smashing it, then dumped the pieces in the incinerator chute.

She sat back down in her chair and picked up the chest plate, the tools and began etching again. She had the inspiration she needed and began the motif of a silver dragon and a red fox, back to back, on the left half of the plate.

(o.o)

"Sir, we lost the signal but we have a lock on it's last location."

"We'll leave her for a while. She's been there more than a month and Cartarea said she's still alive so whatever transportation she used must have given out without a replacement. There are more pressing things right now and she'll keep; she always does. We'll pick up what's left of her some other time"

"Yes sir.

End Ch 9


	10. Cut

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

Ki'ct-pa: wrist blades

Awu'asa: armor

Cn'tlip: alcoholic drink

ki'its-pa: hunting spear

_Enjoy the story ; P_

**_WARNING!_** : **This chapter contains themes that may be disturbing to younger or squeamish readers. This story is rated M for a reason. _You have been warned._ If you still read it and are traumatized or something, I can't be held responsible because I did warn you. If you aren't supposed to be here, I can't be held responsible for that either and I wag my finger disapprovingly at you.**

Chapter 10 – Cut

(–)

After being dragged to the room, her hands were bound above her head, her legs shackled akimbo and a hide muzzle was strapped around her head, trapping her jaws shut. She expected the guards to lay into her, why else would they restrain her so but strangely, they merely watched her as she growled at them. She was wondering what they had in store for her when the door opened.

A different feline male stepped into the room and the air went out of her lungs.

Her vision focused in on him and something deep inside her cried out in a silent, anguished howl.

He was patterned in dusky greys, a blaze of paler grey at his throat, his fingers darker than the rest of his hands and his fuzz-tipped ears an almost black, the left one with three gold earrings hanging from it. His eyes, already brightened by the wide bands of black half encircling them, were a startling blue that seemed to draw her in. Behind him, a tail that reminded her strongly of a loin's – save for colour – twitched in what seemed to be anticipation.

She didn't understand her reaction to the male; she was sure she hadn't ever seen him before but something in her recognized him and wanted to curl in on itself. For a moment when she had first looked at him, she'd seen another image, like a whisper of a memory, super-imposed over her vision, of this male standing next to another male that looked similar, slightly older with violet eyes. She didn't know where this image came from but despite knowing that she had never seen him before, she she had the oddest feeling that she _knew_ him. She was so focused on him, that she didn't notice when the guards left.

The male seemed to stare at her a long time.

She felt his gaze travel along her body as keenly as if he was actually touching her. He didn't say anything, just continued to watch her, as if something about her puzzled him. After what seemed like an age, he stepped towards her and the sudden movement made her flinch. The male frowned.

It confused her that her reaction should displease him; the others had seemed to enjoy the fear they caused in her.

The male continued forward and reached out, placing one hand gently on her brow, his hand stroking down the fur between her ears and curling down around her left cheek. The tender-seeming action was so unexpected that for a moment she found her self leaning into the gentle touch while at the same time, some part of her recoiled from the male himself.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" His words were soft spoken, like he was trying to calm a startled animal.

Because the tightness of the muzzle didn't allow her to speak clearly, she shook her head in answer.

He smiled gently at her. "But you recognize me, don't you?"

She didn't know how he knew that and she considered lying to him, but she was curious. He obviously knew her, beyond her current circumstances. Slowly, she nodded.

"I know _you_, Veriea." He smiled as her eyes widened in shock. "Yes, I know your name, even though you've never uttered it in this place to anyone. I have never forgotten your unusual markings or your strange, fire-bright eyes; Empath eyes, if I'm not mistaken. How quaint that you should choose that name for this form, despite not knowing the history of it."

The male stroked her neck, carding his fingers through her fur. She shivered at the sensation. "I should really thank you for killing my brother; he was all that stood between me and the power I have now."

He seemed to tire of her muteness and flicked deft fingers over the buckles of the muzzle, loosening it and slipping it off.

Veriea was stunned by both his words and actions. She had never killed anyone her life, not even in battle or at least not directly - none that she knew of. She didn't even know who this feline was.

The male seemed amused by her confusion. "Cat got your tongue dear?" He purred.

"Who are you?" She finally ventured to ask, goaded by his comment. "How do you know me?"

He smiled at her, remaining far enough into her personal space to keep her uncomfortable.

"Who am I, she asks?" He parroted back, finally stepping away from her and raising his arms high. "I am ruler of all you see. I am Zaiaku, the Patriarch, King of Bast'ara and Emperor of the United Empire."

Veriea felt rather foolish when the first words out of her mouth were;

"But I thought the Ruler of the Empire was Queen Haather?"

More so when Zaiaku just laughed.

"Ah, I forget you have been locked away so long. The Matriarch is no longer. Interestingly enough, she has defected; falling with her lover, the Head Alpha of the Anu'bisains no less! It is no wonder the war efforts had been so pitiful as late with such a sympathizer at the helm." The feline seemed to be utterly delighted with his ability to stun her to silence. "In point of fact, the operation that brought you here was my debut. I must say, I'm _very_ pleased with the results." His outright leer was enough for Veriea to find her tongue once more.

"What do you want with me? I'm nothing special; there's a thousand more like me out there."

"I quite doubt that, my dear. Self-sacrifice in the heat of battle is one thing – it's easy enough to do when you're either dying or have no time to think through and really consider the consequences, especially when you signed up to do the fighting – but _you_, my dear? How long were you left to consider what would happen to you? To the others? How many times _after_ the first time did you disregard your own comforts to save those others from the same. We've seen older stock trying to protect the younger before but usually after the first couple sessions they stop. You kept trying to protect them, fully knowing what the guards would do to you. And of course, you never had any duty to do so; you're barely trained, not even related to any of them, so what reason do you have to keep fighting for them? To sacrifice what little comfort you could gain for them?"

His clear desire for an actual answer had her speaking before she could really think it through for herself.

"They needed me. I was the oldest and they were so young..."

"A maternal desire then." He summed up as if it was a logical conclusion. "How noble and yet so primal; a mother protecting her cubs. How ironic even."

"I'm nobody's mother!" She denied, despite realizing that her actions could be seen as such.

"Heh, well. We'll have to change that, won't we my dear?"

"What?"

Zaiaku approached her again, one hand going to her waist and stroking her belly, the other at her throat to hold her back against the wall as she then tried to lunge forward and bite him for the intimate touch.

"You know, you could share my power, Veriea. I find I quite like you and I have no Queen as yet. I would love nothing more than to see your belly swell with child. _My_ child. Could you see it, Veriea? You and I on the throne of the Empire? Of the Verses? _Our_ offspring, the heirs to all of existence?"

"I see that you're fucking crazy because I would _die_ before I would submit to the person who wants to destroy my world and either kill or enslave the people I love and care about!" She snarled and spat at him.

The spittle landed between his eyes and he pulled away. As he wiped it from his face, he only smiled at her.

"How unfortunate. I was hoping you would see reason and take the easy path but I see you will need some educating before you take your place at my side."

He pressed the door release and three male guards entered. He said something to them that she couldn't hear and one of them began to approach her, pulling off his uniform top and unbuckling his weapon belt as he did. The others took up positions on either side of the door, on the outside.

Zaiaku looked back at her as he spoke to the guards, capturing her horrified attention from the male that was now removing the rest of his clothing. "No permanent damage but as long as necessary without compromising her health. I want her broken."

He did not even pause in his stride when he heard her anguished and enraged howl echo through the corridors only moments later.

(-)

Veriea awoke with a start to find her furred blankets trying to strangle her.

Calming down a little, she disentangled herself from the sheets and punched her pillows a few times, trying to relieve her frustration. It didn't work.

She knew she couldn't sleep peacefully again tonight and one nightmare was more than enough for her – particularly _that_ one – so she got up and started to don her clothes, gauntlets and shin guards, though leaving the rest of her armory where it was, ears perked alertly and her tail twitching in agitation.

_An irritating alert system_, she thought as she strode out of her door and silently padded down the hall, past the bridge and to the air lock, tapping in the code. As she leapt down to the sands of the beach where _The Cn'tlip_ was hidden, cloaked safely among the cliffs, she dropped to all fours and decided that a good, long run was what she needed. As she ran along the dark shoreline, she thought about all she'd learned in the last few months.

It seemed that her nightmares becoming so frequent was an indication to the approach of her heat cycle, becoming more intense and less dream-like as the preluding week wore on, apparently caused by the influx of hormones in her system. She'd also been rather dismayed to find that her speculation as to the frequency of her heat cycles was turning out to be right, this being the second onslaught since they had left the Homeworld and, more or less, halfway through the rotation.

She had learned as well, the hard way, that the musk of a female in heat tended to attract the attention more than just yautja males; the boys still teased her about the troop of me'a'kazes – small, tree-dwelling family animals – that had followed her around last time. Thought they did have a very nice set of the striped furs now and the meat had lasted them a few weeks.

Veriea slowed and moved down the sands a little so that the water washed over her hands and feet. The sounds of the waves lapping at the shore was gentle in the night air and it soothed her a bit but by no means completely. Tonight's nightmare still haunted her, as did the memory that supplied it.

What she wouldn't give for there to be some magic way for her to forget but short of trying to beat herself senseless, there wasn't and she didn't particularly feel like braining herself stupid; she had to learn to cope with them. She just wished they didn't affect her so badly. Her eyes gleaming iridescent in the moonlight, Veriea turned and started up the beach, heading for the scrub and tall trees where they had been hunting the previous day.

Perhaps a chase, a hunt like she use to do would help. It was still very dark, the moon high in the black, start-strewn sky, but it was not too early to catch breakfast and it would give her something purposeful to do.

Head low, she cast around for a trail and when she found one, she set off.

(-_-,)

It was only just beginning to lighten when she returned to _The Cn'tlip_ with her kill, already skinned and cleaned. It was a smallish, deer-like creature with great big claws instead of hooves and a long tail that ended in a scythe-like blade about 8 inches long. She had a few scratches on her arms and legs from its claws and two large gashes on her back and shoulder from its tail but she was very happy with her hunt and had taken its tail blade to make a knife, as well as a few claws and its skull as trophies. She packed the meat away into the storage, cleaned up her trophies and herself and went back outside to work on her soon-to-be knife and watch the planet's twin suns rise.

It was as the sky was turning a deep green-blue just before true dawn, that Veriea became aware that she had company.

"Morning." She said, not looking up as she finished her work. She already knew who it was; she'd gotten good at telling the boys apart simply from their presence.

"I noticed the extra meat in the storage; you've been hunting already?" G're'e'cha asked, sitting down next to her. She felt warmer and more relaxed for his presence.

"Ages ago. Like my new knife? Breakfast was kind enough to supply it." She offered up the finished blade for his inspection.

"You're getting good at making blades. Your first one was honestly rather pathetic but this is good; you've balanced the handle and the blade perfectly. I think your Teki'ke'a friend would be proud. I like the grips you've put on the handle." He commented as he experimenting with the knife, putting it through its paces. "Wouldn't stand up to hard meat blood though." He said, handing it back to her, handle first.

"Not much does." She snorted, knowing he was trying to bait her. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.

"Exactly how long _have_ you been up?" She shrugged. "Nightmares?"

"One. I knew I wasn't going to get any more sleep and instead tried to tire myself out, you know, too tired to dream. Not working all that well though; still wide awake."

"Ver'ei'a," He admonished. "That's not good for you. If you'd just let one of us-"

"No." She growled. "I rather think waking up with someone groping me _once_ is quite enough. Besides, you guys won't always be there; I have to learn to deal with it on my own."

"What makes you think we won't always be here?" G're'e'cha demanded.

"That's what happens; people drift apart eventually. You guys will probably find Life Mates at some point and you aren't going to want to spend all your time hanging around each other then."

G're'e'cha sat broodingly for a moment, watching her closely.

"Let me rephrase that then; what makes you think _I_ won't always be there for you?"

Veriea blinked, confused for a moment.

Dare she hope…

"I'm not sure what you're trying to say, G're'e'cha." She said carefully.

"I like you, Ver'ei'a, a lot." G're'e'cha brushed one of her dreadlock behind her ear. "I want to be there for you. You aren't like other females, not just in the obvious ways." He chuckled softly. "And you let me get away with teasing you with only minor injuries, too."

Veriea looked away, out at the thin horizon over the water, swallowing hard.

She had suspected this and if she was perfectly honest with herself, she had hoped. Somewhere between being a pain in the ass and being protective of her, she had found herself attracted to him, how, she wasn't quite sure but she had and for all his teasing and flirting, she couldn't bring herself to believe that he could be a real possibility. He made her laugh, something she was definitely in need of, always knew if something was bothering her and was definitely that little extra bit more protective of her than the others. He was completely honest with her and realized fully that she had different needs than the yautja females.

"G're'e'cha…" She completely forgot what she'd been about to say when she found him a lot closer than he had been a second ago.

For one idiotic moment, she thought he was going to kiss her.

The rational part of her brain was saying; hello? They don't have lips! Yautja kissing – equals – physically impossible; get your mind out of the gutter!

So she was surprised when he gentle ran the tips of his mandibles across her cheeks. _That feels nice…_ she thought absently. She quivered as he did it again. It sure _felt_ like a kiss, only without the lip-locking and her hormones seemed to know what it was because they surged up with a vengeance as she eyes fluttered close of their own accord and she sighed. Since when did her cheeks become endogenous zones?

And did she just _sigh_?

He moved his attentions down to her neck and automatically she tilted her head to give him access, which brought a purr of pleasure from G're'e'cha and he gently nipped her skin with his teeth. "The others…?"

She mentally cringed at how clueless (and breathless) she sounded and was about to make another attempt at speaking in a coherent sentence when he answered her.

"I already spoke with them. They approve." He mumbled, tickling her skin. Did he always know what she was thinking? _She_ was supposed to be the Empath.

He lifted his hands, placing one at the nape of her neck, kneading her taunt muscles and the other began to massage her ear. Between that and what he was doing to her throat, Veriea felt like her brain was short circuiting. G're'e'cha traced his finger tips across her collar bone and a small mewling escaped her, drawing another purring chuckle from G're'e'cha.

She didn't have a clue when it had happened but somehow they had ended up lying down in the sand, G're'e'cha leaning over her but apparently being very careful to keep his weight off of her. She had to smile at that; even now he was being so careful and protective of her. It was rather hard to think though, with him nibbling on her neck like that.

G're'e'cha was slowly tracing the scars on her shoulders with backs of his knuckles and Veriea wondered absently what it was about yautja blood that made their scars stand out so darkly against the skin as she admired his. He was tracing her skin with his talon tips now, inducing a delicious shiver to tingle its way down her spine. Her hands had taken a life of their own it seemed, roaming his chest and shoulders.

Maybe she could handle this now, maybe she was ready…

She kissed his neck and he purred again and she could feel the vibrations it caused through his skin. She could smell his aroused musk strongly from this close but it didn't seem noxious to her as the other male's had. If he was this attentive and gentle all the time she could really get used to this….

She gasped and jerked back as G're'e'cha gazed a set of scars beneath her right collar bone with his claws. Misinterpreting the sound, he repeated the action, this time his talons more gentle but they matched the jagged lines as if he were carving them himself and a coil of inexplicable panic shot though her. For a moment out side of time she was somewhere else and she saw cold blue eyes leering at her and she couldn't hear G're'e'cha calling her name for the blood rushing in her ears.

She felt herself being gently shaken and she snapped back to reality, pushing G're'e'cha away from her roughly and scrambling backward, eyes wide. She looked up at him, realized what she had done and collapsed in on herself hugging her knees into her chest and burying her face in them, her tail wrapping around her feet, ears drooping with a whimper.

G're'e'cha tentatively lay a hand on her shoulder, pulling back when she flinched. "Ver'ei'a?" He said softly. "I'm sorry, did I- Did I hurt you?"

"No." Her small voice came, muffled by her knees. Gods, she felt awful, leaving him in the lurch like that and now he thought he'dhurt her. He had made her feel better than she had in long time and he thought he'd _hurt _her. She lifted her head, a sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, G're'e'cha. I- I can't do this, not now. I do like you and I want…But I can't." By the time she'd finished, her eyes were downcast again.

G're'e'cha resettled himself beside her and wrapped his arms around her protectively. This time she didn't flinch.

Veriea learned her head back to rest on his shoulder, her eyes closed. She couldn't believe how accepting he was; no questions, no demands, no going of in a huff or trying to coerce her. He had every right to be angry – she _had_ just pushed him away in the middle of something getting very personal, not to mention _physical_ – but he was just being supportive, realizing, she supposed, that she had issues to deal with and lending a shoulder to lean on, literally as well as figuratively. He really wasn't the typical yautja male and she knew just how damn lucky she was to have him, as her friend and as her potential – _hopeful_ – something more.

When Veriea felt the first rays of sunlight on her face she shifted, still shivering, not from cold – the day had already begun to swelter – but from the tension in her muscles refusing to recede.

"Are you alright Ver'ei'a?" G're'e'cha asked, nudging her head with his own.

"No." She admitted. "But I will be. I have to-" The tension in her body redoubled then. "I have to go." She tried to stand but G're'e'cha tightened his grip.

"No. You've already been up half the night. Go back to _The Cn'tlip_, get some sleep."

"To have more nightmares? I don't think so." She slipped under his hold and stood but he grabbed her wrist.

"I'll sit with you then. I promise I won't fall asleep. You need the rest Ver'ei'a." His voice was almost pleading but she knew that sleep right now was not what she needed. If she went to sleep now…she dreaded what she might see; what she might have to relive.

"Don't hold me back, G're'e'cha." She said softly. "You know me far less than you think you do. I know what I'm doing…and you have my Promise."

His grip loosened in surprise at that and she took the opportunity to slip out if it. He didn't call after her as she walked away.

(-_-)

Veriea hunted and killed far more viciously than she had ever thought herself capable of.

She was channeling all her anger and frustration into her actions and that was far from good for her prey.

How _dare_ He ruin that moment for her. He was gone, in her past and yet He still managed to affect her life.

_It's because He's still with me,_ she thought, _In my memories and in my nightmares_.

She slashed through her current prey's belly, spilling its intestines before it, imagining His face, that it was His innards she was spilling, as he watched, helpless. Scavengers and predators alike were following in her wake, attracted by the smell of the blood and gore and by the noise, fighting over the carcasses and dragging them off into hiding, though there were plenty for the taking.

She wasn't taking any care to be quiet as she thrashed through the vegetation, cutting down anything she couldn't simply push aside and paying no attention to the injuries she was sustaining, minor or not. She welcomed the pain, her own and that she sensed from her prey, the fighting creatures around her. The physical pain was easier to deal with and it helped drown out the emotional ache that was growing in her chest.

Dammit! Couldn't she ever just have want she wanted out of life? She didn't ask for much.

She punched the nearest tree in a rage, screaming her anger.

A flash of pain lanced up her arm.

That felt good, dulled the burn of the volcano building in her heart.

She did it again, splitting open the skin on her knuckles.

She kept punching the tree until she couldn't feel her hand anymore and she had left several indentations in the rough bark. Breathing hard, she leaned against the tree, heedless of the bloody pulp she was smearing across her brow or the blood trickling down her body, dripping from her abused hand. She flicked out her ki'cti-pa and began slashing the tree but quickly stopped.

That didn't help the pain, only fueled the burn.

She slashed at a clear spot on her arm. That worked. She healed the cut and then reopened it. And did it again. She knew it would make a scar, she was cutting too deep, but the rush of adrenaline each reopening and healing brought, the sense of control, the pain, helped her to forget what utterly helpless prey she was to her own subconscious mind, her memories.

_This_ she could control, her physical body, force it to damage and fix itself in a never ending circle.

_But you can't control it all, can you?_ Her mind taunted her.

She slashed deeper, hissing in pain.

No.

She couldn't.

That's why she couldn't get close without seeing Him, without being reminded of the reasons why she shouldn't; couldn't.

She considered, not for the first time, of cutting that deeply, just a different location, not healing it, ending it but she wouldn't do that. No, then He would win. She wouldn't let Him win. She would not give in.

She realized then that her magic had reached its limit and she could no longer heal, for a while at least. How long had she been doing this? How many times had she cut herself to have exhausted her deep well of magic with the healing of such a small, minor injury? The boys would think nothing of the wound though, just another mark of the hunt; just another scar.

Exhausted, she returned to _The Cn'tlip._

Night was falling once more.

The air lock opened and she saw her boys lounging around the bridge, still in their armor, cleaning trophies, obviously having had a good day's hunting.

"Hey, Ver'ei'a, where've you-" She walked past them, ignoring S'ak'e'cha's warm greeting. "-Been?" He finished, his brow furring in confusion as he watched her retreating back. "What's up with her?"

In her room Veriea mechanically went through the motions of cleaning her armor before stepping into the shower. She hadn't realized just how much blood she'd been covered in, a disturbing amount of it her own.

It had been years since she last self-inflicted, mostly because He had stopped her from getting her hands on anything she could use to do it; He couldn't have His prized pet kill herself, not that it stopped her from trying, even when He had gone so far as to blunt her claws and teeth to keep her from turning them on herself.

She turned the hot water on full blast and started her grisly task of sloughing off the caked layers of gore; for half an hour the water was sickening shades of green, purple and pink as in ran down the drain to be cleaned and recycled. Once she was finally clean, she moderated the temperature to something more comfortable and just let the spray wash over her.

She couldn't start self-inflicting again.

There was no one to bring her back if she managed to go too far and she shouldn't be doing it, just as a general rule. Things were better now. She was happy, for the most part.

And there was G're'e'cha.

Thinking about him was enough to put a smile on her face. No, she wouldn't self-inflict again, not because she could go too far, or because He might win. She wouldn't because she had G're'e'cha.

She turned off the water, dried herself off and flopped into her bed, dragging up the covers.

(o_o,)

Sometime later that night, after the others had gone to sleep, G're'e'cha knocked on Veriea's door. Getting no answer he knocked again and the door slid open; it hadn't been locked.

Veriea was tossing and turning on the bed, looking as though she were trying to fight something off, small noises of distress escaping her. He crossed the room quickly, taking her hand in his and lifting her up so that she was nestled in his lap as he sat on the bed. He brushed an errant dreadlock out of her face and after a minute or so she calmed, though a look of fear stayed etched on her features.

_What was done to you, Ver'ei'a?_ He thought and then a growl rumbled from deep in his chest. _And who did it to you?_

These nightmares were hitting her hard but what worried him most was what was causing the nightmares; she'd said enough for him to figure out that it was to do with her past, before she had run into their Chiva hunting party. S'ak'e'cha had also said something about her desperately calling out for someone named 'Silvashadow' once. Was that the name of a past mate? And where was he now if he wasn't taking care of her?

G're'e'cha felt the anger rising in him. What pathetic excuse for a male would let her go off into a situation like they had found her in? He found himself dearly wishing this Silvashadow to be dead. How could they possibly leave her to be tormented as she obviously had been? All of them were fond of Veriea and didn't like to see her in pain – as testified by his and her brother's threats of what they would do to him if he hurt her – but it hurt him to see her hurting.

His thoughts turned to her Promise.

He wondered who had told her about Promises. Giving him her Promise meant that she would not consider another mate for the next 4 rotations, or until she either accepted or refused his offer. Knowing her like he did, she would not have been considering mates anyway but it was a security none the less and it did give her a viable excuse to turn prowling males away rather than what she had done last time; he still smiled at the memory, the looks on his friend and brother's faces and probably even his own when they had seen those two strips of material tied around her ki'its-pa. That had been about the time he started to realize how much he hated the idea of seeing her with someone else.

The Promise was an old custom that few practiced anymore but it did, more or less, give him permission to prove he could be a good Life Mate, a courting period really and he was going to show her just how good he would be. There wasn't anything he could really do to relieve her of her nightmares and it frustrated the hell out of him.

But he _could_ sit with her.

He _would_ be there for her.

True to his word, he didn't fall a sleep but before she stirred in the morning he was gone, leaving only a faintly warm space as any indication he'd been there. He was going to need to take things slow with her. If her reaction the previous morning was any indication, she was willing but he would have to be careful about how he courted her; normal tactics would not help him here. Security and protection was what she needed most right now.

End- Ch 10

A/N: Awwww, poor G're'e'cha and Veriea. I know, I'm evil, but this is all part of the plot. There were lots a clues in this chapter by the way. Hope you enjoyed it and I just want to give a mention to the AvP story **_Outsider_** by **_miikaawaadizi_** It's a really good story so please check it out and leave a review. I won't mind if you leave me reviews either…. ;P


	11. 3 Rotations Later…

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

Ki'ct-pa: wrist blades

Awu'asa: armor

Cn'tlip: alcoholic drink

ki'its-pa: hunting spear

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 11 – 3 Rotations Later…

Veriea lay on her back on the floor, feet in the air, examining her newest trophy.

She heard a chuckle off to the side and grinned.

"Pauk, do you have any idea how doable you look when you do that?" H'ak'e'cha chuckled as he came over and leaned on her upturned feet with one arm. She threw the skull up into the air and he caught it. The twins had picked up more than a few sayings and phrases from her.

"Yep, and I do it just to tease you all." She grinned evilly. "Got to get you ready for mating season or those females are going to pick you to bits."

"About that…" He said, dropping the skull for her to catch.

"Answer's the same as last time, H'ak'e'cha; none of your business." She smiled and then pulled her feet away quickly. He fell forward not having anticipated the move and she rolled out of the way, then sitting astride his back as he hit the floor. She playfully placed the skull on top of his head, giggling.

"You're really asking for it, girl." He rumbled over his shoulder but not making any move to get up. She let out a surprised yelp as a pair of strong arms grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up. She recognized S'ak'e'cha's trilling laughter in her ear.

"Hey! Two against one! No fair!"

"No, I'm rescuing you. I don't share my females." He purred in her ear but ruined the line when he snorted in laughter. Veriea Vanished the skull, not wanting it to become damaged in the scuffle.

"_Your_ female?" H'ak'e'cha laughed as he got up, getting in on the act. "_I_ met her first." He playfully grabbed her out of his twin's arms.

"But she hit _me _first." He made a move to grab her back but H'ak'e'cha slung her over his shoulder, moving back out of reach.

"Watch it!" Veriea squeaked as her head came dangerously close to some of the overhead equipment. "_This_ female," She said, flipping her legs over to land on the floor and face them, out of both their reach. "Belongs quite happily to herself."

The looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter at their silly banter.

This had become the norm over the years, becoming so comfortable and familiar with one another that they could joke and muck around and even flirt without it ever meaning more than friendly fun. And they knew about her Promise, of course. They treated her like a sister really; she had forgotten how good that could feel.

A chuckle came form the doorway.

"Mating season isn't for another four weeks, you three, so tone it down." G're'e'cha said, the mirth evident in his voice.

"Aw, but it's fun! You should try it G're'e, shouldn't he, Red?" S'ak'e'cha asked slyly, using their affectionate pet name for her, grinning.

The pet name confused her a little; yes she had red hair, so it did make sense but when you took into account that Yautja saw in a completely different light spectrum and didn't really have a concept of colour, it was complexing. She had shruged it off though, assuming that they had heard her mention the colour of her hair and had remembered it.

In all honesty she had been rather surprised that G're'e'cha tolerated their behavior towards her, even seemed to encourage it sometimes but perhaps he knew they were only harmless, friendly gestures, or else had had words with his brothers. In any case, G're'e'cha just grinned and called down the hall.

"Ma'e, H'ak'e and S'ak'e are flirting with your sister on the bridge again!"

"Well tell them to cut it out!" Ma'e'ka'cha called back. "Red's got to get that butt of hers into the pilot seat if she plans to fly us in!"

At that Veriea's ears perked up and she jumped happily in infectious exuberance.

"You mean it? I get to fly _The Cn'tlip_ down to the Homeworld?"

Ma'e'ka'cha emerged from the hallway, brushing past G're'e'cha who still leaned against the wall, grinning. Veriea bet anything that he had something to do with it.

"I can't see why not; you've done plenty of flying in the last two rotations." Ma'e'ka'cha said and he grinned too.

"Yeah, but you never let me fly when we're near the Homeworld."

"That's because you're too fond of flashy evasive maneuvers when they aren't called for." H'ak'e'cha said, rapping her on the top of her head with his knuckles and ignoring the death glare he was getting from G're'e'cha. She didn't even bother to scold him herself.

"Can't I do one itsy-bitsy fly-by?" She asked innocently.

"NO." The males all yelled in unison.

She tried to make a sulky face but the corners of her mouth were twitching upwards.

"Bugger."

(^_^)

Veriea practically glowed as she left the ship; she'd landed it without a hitch.

Not that she'd been expecting something to go wrong – she'd been flying _The Cn'tlip_ on and off for a while now – but there was just something immensely satisfying about landing the ship on the Homeworld for the first time; like she was finally, truly a part of this world.

She resisted the urge to skip as she passed the gates, the two guards there eyeing her. It always seem to be the same two yautja guarding the gates when they docked for mating season and she wondered if they purposely tried to get assigned to that post when this time of the rotation rolled around; she had recognized them, the previous 4 years in a row now, as being among the males that 'sniffed her out', in a manner of speaking.

_Nah, I'm probably just getting an ego._ She thought. They probably got this spot to check out all the other hunter females that came through, not to mention all the gossip. Though there did seem to be quite a few males who wanted her as a mate – too bad for them. She dismissed the thoughts and headed for the markets to see an old friend.

"Yoo-hoo! Kainde'a!" She called as she entered the Teki'ke'a's stall. The older female appeared from amongst her shelves of armor and weapons, her mandibles quirking in a smile as she saw Veriea.

"Ver'ei'a, welcome back." Kainde'a'ke'a approached, somewhat slower than usual, and shook her shoulder in greeting. "You're getting bigger."

"You always say that, but I haven't grown an inch; I've been checking." Veriea pouted. "Hey, maybe you're shrinking!" She teased and then dodged, laughing, as a swipe was aimed her way, before returning the greeting. "You were moving like you're injured; are you alright?"

"Just those two pauk'de males making trouble again. I told them you were dropping by and they took off. Nothing serious, just a scratch on my shoulder." Veriea growled.

"If I ever actually find out who those two males are, I'm going to kick their asses." Veriea blinked, realizing something. "Wait a minute, if they got your shoulder-"

"You've got a couple orders in," Kainde'a'ke'a cut her question off. "Two gauntlets and a hunting mask. Someone wanted a shoulder cannon done but you know how new young bloods don't tend to think things through. If you wait until mating season is closer, the young bloods will be wanting their armor done for the 'festivities'. She grinned. "I still can't believe how fast you learnt to make all this, especially the masks and wrist computers; they're the hardest. I think the only way I could be more proud of you is if you were _my_ daughter."

She had started decorating and making armor and then weapons to be sold by Kainde'a'ke'a after her second season with the yautja and after an influx of requests, had started doing custom jobs when she was on the home world.

"I used to tinker with machines a bit," Veriea shrugged, pushing away as she always did the memory ofwho had taught her. "I got a bit of a knack, not nearly as good as you though."

Kainde'a'ke'a smiled as she moved behind the counter.

"Well your 'knack' has made you quite a bit this last rotation; you must have enough for your own ship by now." She handed Veriea her earnings. "Not that you need it with that crew of yours." She said with a knowing grin and Veriea blushed. Kainde'a'ke'a never missed an opportunity to tease her about G're'e'cha. She hastily moved the conversation in a different direction.

"You know I couldn't have learned to do all this stuff properly without you, Kainde'a. You're like my mother, mentor and best friend all rolled into one." And she meant every word.

Kainde'a'ke'a leaned forward on the counter and watched Veriea speculatively for a moment. "What's that look for?" Veriea asked a little warily.

"I want to ask you something." She looked uncomfortable as she said that.

"Sure, what's up?"

"You remember Ker'e'aka?"

"Uh, hunky Arbitrator from last season, right?" Veriea grinned but wondered where this was going.

"Yes. He asked me to be his Life Mate."

"What? You serious? Congratulations!" For some reason her friend still looked uncomfortable. "Wait, there's more to this isn't there?"

"He wants me to come with him on the Clan Ship at the end of this season and I can continue my work there but I can't take everything with me so…" She grinned sheepishly at Veriea. "I want you to have the stall."

Veriea couldn't say anything for a moment, completely stunned. She blinked.

"You want _me_ to have it?" She asked finally. "What about your offspring-"

"They're all obsessive hunters, none of them would want it or appreciate it and I want to give it to _you_."

One of those awkward silences followed.

"I don't know what to say…"

"Say you'll take it." Kainde'a'ke'a said simply. Veriea resigned her self.

"Thank you. You know I'll do my best. Any other news? Like how did Mr. Hunk ask you?" She laughed.

Kainde'a'ke'a grinned mischievously.

"He asked me right before I told him he was going to have another son or daughter."

"What? But you said-"

"I guess I'm not so far past my baring years as I thought." She said cheekily, running a hand over her slightly swollen belly.

Veriea gapped. She should have sensed that.

Hell, she should have _seen_ that.

Now a lot of things made sense. She snapped out of her shock.

"Congrats again! That's just- Wow. When are you due?"

"About quarter-way through next rotation." Kainde'a'ke'a' smiled.

"I bet Ker'e'aka's happy." Veriea smirked.

"Oh yes, _very_ happy." She smirked back. "I just hope my little one is going to have a play mate soon…maybe a friend's first little one?" She smiled suggestively at Veriea making her blush again.

"Fingers crossed." She said a little strained, though mostly to herself. "Well, I better go make room on _The Cn'tlip_. I'll be back later. Ok?" She said turning to go.

"Alright, but bring your young male along too; I need to see that he's worthy of you." She called as Veriea left, waving over her shoulder.

Veriea couldn't help it and so gave a little skip as she headed back to the ship yard; tough warrior image and strange looks be damned, she was too happy to care right now. She thought of all the things she could do with the stall, the upgrades and customary gadgets. There was also the fact that she would be able to see Kainde'a'ke'a more – they docked at the Clan Ship far more often than on the Homeworld – and there would be a little pup to spoil! And there was G're'e'cha too. She crossed her fingers, hopefully. Things couldn't get much better right now.

A roar ripped through the air and Veriea felt something in pain.

Quickly she followed the feeling into the scrub off the pathway and suddenly saw the largest land creature she'd ever seen.

It looked like some strange alien cross between a wolf and a lion, covered in thick, blue-black fur with a huge mane of pure black which covered its chest and ran down its back in a ridge. Its face was wide with a stubby muzzle, full of glistening ice-blue teeth. It had 3 pairs of eyes, each a different colour but all silvery iridescent, making them seem to glow. A wide scar slashed across one of the eyes on the left side. Behind each cluster of eyes a pale blue horn sprouted, like pillars of ice growing from its flesh. Its long tail flicked from side to side and at 14 feet tall at the shoulder, it was bigger than a bull elephant.

What amazed her most of all was that the creature seemed to be absorbing the heat around it, rather than exuding it, its body maintaining the same temperature as its surroundings; if she hadn't been able to see in colour, she wouldn't have been able to see it at all. Ingenious defense, considering the planet's dominant predators saw only heat.

She had to hand it to Mother Nature.

But she didn't have time to be impressed when she saw what was between its massive feet; a yautja youngling.

The beast raised its paw and Veriea acted on instinct, diving for the youngling, scooping it up and rolling off to the side with it tucked close to her body as the towering beast brought its claws down.

The beast turned and snarled at her but, strangely, did not attack and Veriea held her position, crouched low, with the youngling curled tightly under her arm, tense, alert and ready but knowing that if she ran now it would only chase her – and probably catch her. _A predator's instinct is to chase things that run and will most likely back down if given a good enough show of being stood up to._ She told herself, or more, reassured herself. The youngling was trembling.

The beast roared, still not attacking and Veriea did all she could think to do; she roared right back at it, albeit less impressively.

For a minute, more, they stood, neither moving, their eyes locked, tense, waiting for the other to make a move. Veriea thought that maybe, just maybe the creature couldn't actually see while she wasn't moving, was waiting for her to do so, but as she started back at it, she knew it could see her, all six of its multi-colored eyes locked on her precisely and she could see the intelligence behind those eyes, calculating, perhaps even just a little bit curious. It could definitely see her.

Veriea growled and in that moment, there was something that neither really understood, that passed between them.

With a last rumbling growl, the beast turned and disappeared into the vegetation.

End-Ch11


	12. Misfits

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

Ki'ct-pa: wrist blades

Awu'asa: armor

Cn'tlip: alcoholic drink

ki'its-pa: hunting spear

S'yuitde: shit (derogatory term)

Tbi: survivor

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 12 – Misfits

When Veriea was sure that the beast was really gone, she sighed in relief, shaking from all the adrenaline surging through her system that suddenly had no outlets.

Gently she set the youngling down and crouched to tend his injuries; it had several nasty slashes all over its body and looked as though it had been out here for a long time.

The youngling sat perfectly still and silent while she worked, head bowed and eyes downcast, almost as if it were afraid of her. Well, she _had_, in its eyes at least, just stared down a monster more than 10 times her own size. She shook her head and smiled, trying to appear friendly.

It was difficult to tell (yautja young didn't develop any noticeably visible signs of gender until they were 6 cycles old) but she confirmed from the youngling's scent that it was a male. As she healed his wounds, he flinched but made no sound.

"You're a brave little warrior." She said softly, trying to sooth him. She was rather appalled by the amount of scars he had, even for a yautja youngling, and how malnourished he obviously was. Maybe he was lost? He certainly hadn't bathed for a while. "What's your name little one?" She asked. He looked up at her with the brightest green eyes she'd ever seen on a yautja and his mandibles twitched a little but he said nothing.

_He's a strange little guy_. She thought. She'd never had a chance to actively interact with a youngling before but she knew that they weren't normally so shy, even with strangers.

His coloring and marking were odd as well; he was a pale grey with green speckles and few tan stripes but there were also large blotches of brown on his chest, right arm, forehead, lower back and the inside of his right thigh, where it looked as though someone had splattered paint on him.

He had a stripe of brown between his eyes but it was malformed on one side, spreading to circle his left eye. His coarse, un-dreadlocked hairs were a shiny dark blue and his hands and feet were black, much like her own; she had never seen such a strangely marked yautja. She patted the youngling on the head gently. "How old are you?"

The youngling looked at her with wide eyes for some reason as he held up two fingers.

Only _2_? The poor little thing was probably frightened half to death! Veriea figured she had better find his mother but she was going to need help – the boys would know what to do. She stood up, dusting off her hands and was surprised – and nearly knocked back on her ass – when the youngling launched himself at her, clinging to her legs like a limpet.

He didn't want her to go.

Cute.

But she really needed to be able to walk. "Don't worry," She laughed gently. "You're coming with me." The youngling looked up at her, wide eyes pleading, as if not quite believing she was telling the truth, his little arms clenching her thighs tighter. After a moment, he kneaded his forehead into her hip. She took that as a sign that he liked her.

Sighing, she tried to make him let go so that she'd be able to walk but he seemed to have other ideas. Eventually they reached a compromise; he stood beside her, one hand tightly curled around one of her loin cloth straps and the other fisted in the fur of her tail. It wasn't comfortable and she was a little concerned that she was going to loose that clump of fur but at least they could both walk easily.

He was lucky that she liked kids; she doubted that most yautja would be as patient and indulgent with him as she was.

He seemed to start taking some interest in the world when realized that they were heading for the ship yard. Veriea hoped he was ok with ships. The guards at the gate were surprised to see her returning with a youngling and one of them stepped out side of their 'box' to get a better look. He stopped them at the gates.

"Where'd you get that?" He asked, looking down at the youngling.

"None of your business."

The guard poked at the youngling a bit and he tried to hide more behind her but the guard held him where was.

"Scrawny little runt." He rumbled. Something about the tone he used made the comment seem nastier and Veriea snarled at the male.

"Keep your greasy mitts off of him." She growled, knocking his hands away from the youngling and flounced past him, youngling in tow.

She punched in the access code at the ship and the youngling hugged closer as the ramp began to rise. His bright eyes went wide as in surprise when saw the inside of the ship and his tiny mandibles clicked curiously, the first sound she'd heard him make.

None of the others seemed to be in so she showed the youngling where the facilities were, gave him some of her not-likely-to-break-or-be-dangerous trophies to play with and made sure that anything that _was_ dangerous was locked away or safely out of reach.

She sat in the captains chair watching him play for a while before doing a systems check to pass the time. When that was done, she turned to do some cleaning and maintenance on her armor and weapons. After a while she looked over to check on the youngling and saw that he was asleep, curled up in a ball on the floor. Quietly she put the trophies away, scooped up the youngling gently and took him to her room, placing him on the bed and wrapping the covers around him before returning to the captain's chair to wait.

She was halfway through softly singing '100 bottles of beer on the wall' to herself when she felt a small hand tug on her tail. She looked down and saw the youngling there, shaking, his big green eyes frightened and pleading. "Did you have a bad dream?" She asked gently and he nodded. She could definitely empathize with that.

He lifted his arms wordlessly to be picked up.

She obliged him and he nestled in her arms, his head resting against her chest plate where the fox-dragon motif was etched. He was still shaking so she sang a lullaby to calm him. It didn't matter that she couldn't sing in the yautja language, her voice seemed enough for him, raising and falling in rhythm, even if her words made no sense to him.

_Go to sleep…_

_Go to sleep…_

_Go to sleep, little one…_

He stopped shaking and she tucked her legs underneath her, getting comfortable…

_Close your eyes…_

_Rest your head…_

_Know you're safe in your bed…_

He breathing had slowed and his form now rested limply against hers…

_When the birds…_

_Leave their nests…_

_You will wake from your rest…_

Her own eyelids were getting heavy and she thought a nap might be in order, yawning before she sang the last line…

_When the birds…_

_Leave their nests…_

_You'll return to me._

It seemed she had only closed her eyes for a moment when a loud crashing shot her into full alert. Her first realization was that the youngling was missing.

"How did you get in here?" Someone roared angrily.

A quivering mass, that she only just had time realize was the youngling, hurled itself at her, latching on as though his life depended on it and from the tone of voice the yeller was using, it may very well have done. "You aren't getting away that easy!"

"Easy, G're'e'cha! He's just a youngling!" That sounded like Ma'e'ka'cha and Veriea thought that maybe now was a good time to explain things before they escalated. She stood, swiveling the chair to face a surprised G're'e'cha who had looked ready to kill something only a second before. He looked at her, then the youngling in her arms and back to her again, as if something in his brain was screaming "DOES NOT COMPUTE!"

"Who's youngling is that Ver'ei'a?" H'ak'e'cha asked, chuckling at his younger brother's expression.

"I don't know; he's lost. I brought him here to ask you guys to help me find his mother."

"Lost?" S'ak'e'cha repeated.

"Yeah. He looked like he might have been out there for while, he was scratched up pretty bad when I found him." The youngling clasped more tightly, hiding his face in her shoulder.

"That doesn't sound right." S'ak'e'cha said thoughtfully. "Females don't usually let offspring out of their sight for long unless someone's minding them."

"Then his mother must be really worried about him by now; he's only two rotations old."

"His mother abandoned him." G're'e'cha said quietly, seemingly recovered from his shock. Ma'e'ka'cha twitched his mandibles in a frown.

"G're'e'cha, you know as well as any of us that can't be true; it's against the law to abandon-"

"Have any of you _looked_ at that youngling?" He demanded, interrupting.

The youngling wrapped his arms around Veriea's neck, clearly frightened by the yelling.

"What's wrong with how he looks?" She demanded in reply, a little more harshly than she would normally have done, the youngling's obvious state of distress, the fear and apprehension rolling off of him in waves, like he knew what was coming, was pressing on her protective instincts. This did not seem to go down well with G're'e'cha, however.

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha!" He's a _mutation!_" G're'e'cha roared. "Look at his skin! His hair! His eyes! None of it is normal! Have you ever seen a yautja that looked like _that?_"

"So? That doesn't mean-"

"He's right, Red." H'ak'e'cha broke in gently, watching the youngling with a thoughtful eye. "He fits the description; they crop up now and then. And you notice he hasn't made a single sound through all of this? He could be a mute as well."

Veriea couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Just because he's different is no reason to abandon him!"

"I agree, but mutations usually can't survive, Red." S'ak'e'cha said. "Their genes are too weak. He's far too small for a two rotation old youngling as well." The way he said it sounded as though he didn't like to say it but was just stating a fact.

"If his mother abandoned him, he survived those two years on his own!" That gave them something to consider.

"At that, she does have a point." H'ak'e'cha sighed, meditatively, still thinking.

"And you know, even if he is a mute, there's some tech that could help him." S'ak'e'cha put in, seeming happy to be able to argue a point in favor of the youngling. Veriea was glad that they were open minded enough to consider the alternatives of the situation. But it seemed G're'e'cha wasn't. He seemed infuriated by the ideas being batted back and forth.

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha, he's a mutation and deformed on top of that! His markings alone are testament to that! He's a misfit and do you really think that he'll be accepted in yautja society if his own mother abandoned him?"

"Misfit, huh?" Veriea growled, not quite believing that G're'e'cha of all people was saying these things. _Her_ G're'e'cha. "No future in yautja society, huh?" She snatched up her hunting mask off of the dash where she had left it earlier, roughly putting it on, hitched the youngling higher up on her hip and strode to the air lock, smashing in the code. She turned back to face G're'e'cha, her masked face ominous. "We '_misfits_' are going somewhere else." She snarled, flipped him off and left, not even bothering with the ramp but simply jumping out of the open hatch.

G're'e'cha blinked in shock. "What was she talking about 'we'?"

"Way to go, G're'e'cha." H'ak'e'cha snarled, pushing past his younger brother roughly and then heading for his room.

"Yep, real _nice_." S'ak'e'cha added, following after his twin.

G're'e'cha stared after them a moment, confused.

"What was all _that_ about?" He asked, turning to Ma'e'ka'cha who had been silent for some time now.

"Are you really so pauk'de _stupid_ that you don't realize what you just did?" He hissed. His friend's blank look only served to fuel his anger. "Not only was Ver'ei'a right about the youngling, with you arguing away at some idiotic factor that she obviously didn't care about, _you_ called her a deformed misfit!"

"I said that about the youngling, not her."

"And defined him as such but naming the exact features she has in common with him! Hair! Eyes! Markings! But _your_ definition, she's the worst mutation there is!"

"But- but _she's_ different! She was-"

"Yes." Ma'e'ka'cha cut him off. "She is _different._ So is the youngling; you accepted her more than readily enough, why not him? She gave you her pauk'de _Promise_ and you- go and- _Urrrhh!_" He punched him. Hard.

Ma'e'ka'cha was actually shorter than G're'e'cha but in that moment he seemed to tower over him, glaring, his anger barely leashed after his out burst.

"I- but- she..." G're'e'cha flustered angrily, ready to start hitting back, before he suddenly stilled, as if he had only just realized _exactly_ what he had said.

Ma'e'ka'cha didn't notice this as he wheeled away from him and punched a wall, trying to relieve his anger without – thought he had due cause – releasing it on his friend a second time.

"I just don't get it!" He roared. "Was it because she was likely to want to adopt him? Did you not want her caring for offspring you didn't produce when you two finally got your act together? What? What is the reason?" He demanded, not seeing the flinch his words produced.

"_Pauk._" G're'e'cha cursed. "I didn't mean it…I was just so angry when I saw him because- and the youngling- I was wrong, alright?" He couldn't meet his friend's eyes. "I'll let her cool off and then I'll sort this all out; she'll be back by tomorrow, you'll see." He sighed and went to his room to think out his apology. He certainly didn't have a good excuse. Pauk, he didn't have _any_ excuse.

Ma'e'ka'cha remained on the bridge and sank slowly down into the captain's chair, which was still warm from Veriea's body. She had been angrier than he'd even seen her and it was probably only the youngling's presence that kept her from getting violent.

He sighed.

"I hope you're right, G're'e'cha."

(O.O)

_The _nerve_ of that male!_ Veriea fumed as she strode back to the market place in the fading light. _I would have ripped him a new belly button if the youngling hadn't been there!_ Her thoughts calmed a bit as she looked at her charge.

He was still shaking.

_I should calm down, he's probably scared because I'm angry. Kids pick up on that sort of thing._ She forced her body to loosen and relax, masking her anger as best she could at the moment.

A little voice in her mind started to question though. 'Did I over react? Was I reading into things too much? Fuck, I yelled at G're'e'cha. _Fuck_, I _walked out _on G're'e'cha. Am I over reacting now? Am I just running away?'

_NO._ A still angry part of her mind answered, vehemently.

"C'jit." She cursed aloud. She couldn't think this through while she was still angry. Tomorrow she'd think it out. Tomorrow, when she'd cooled off, she could think about this rationally. She had to take care of tonight first.

But one thing was certain; she was adopting the youngling. Which meant he needed a name.

_Later,_ She told herself. _Deal with tonight._

"Kainde'a?" She called, entering the stall, and Kainde'a'ke'a bustled forward into view in the way only expectant mothers could.

"Finally, I thought something had-" She stopped. "Whose youngling is that?"

"Mine. Could we crash here for the night?" Veriea asked with a weak smile.

Much explaining and verbal male bashing later…

"I can make the device, Ver'ei'a, but are you really prepared to care for a youngling? It's a lot harder than it sounds and there may be other less obvious things wrong to deal with." Kainde'a'ke'a asked, eyeing the youngling, who, after tucking into a plate of food with gusto, had fallen asleep in Veriea's arms.

"I'm sure. I know what I'm doing. I refuse to let him be cast aside like he doesn't matter and he doesn't have anyone else; I accepted responsibility for him when I saved him." Kainde'a'ke'a sighed.

"Well, if you're really sure. What are you going to name him?"

Veriea smiled down at the sleeping bundle, brushing a few hairs away from his face.

"Tbi; my little survivor."

(o_o)

"Is she back yet?" G're'e'cha asked from his doorway, for the twenty-second time that morning.

He was a mess of nerves and agitation. Why the pauk had he gone and run his mouth off like that? Spouting s'yuitde he didn't even believe, sounding like_..._

Veriea had been getting better. He'd talked to the others and they had made efforts to bring her out of her shell, slowly getting her used to casual touches, letting her feel safe with them. It had taken three seasons, with some minor set-backs each mating season when she had to turn away over-amorous males but she didn't flinch if someone grabbed a hold of her unexpectedly any more, she didn't panic if she was very close to someone and her nightmares weren't so foundation shaking; she was well rested and comfortable with her surroundings. She'd even started to let him get closer to her, though they hadn't gotten much farther then they had that first time. And now he'd gone and ruined it.

His initial anger at seeing the youngling was sort of acceptable but if he had just calmed down and explained it to Veriea, if he had _thought_ for even a second, she would have understood. Wouldn't have been happy about what he'd have told her but she would have understood. But he hadn't.

Veriea was more relaxed and more forgiving than just about any yautja female you could find concerning most things but after this, he was sure he'd be lucky if she even talked to him again. Pauk, it wasn't even the youngling he'd been angry at!

"No. She's not." Ma'e'ka'cha answered flatly.

"Uh, guys?" S'ak'e'cha interrupted softly. "I just jacked the door to Ver'ei'a's room and-"

"Is she there? Did she sneak back while we were asleep?" G're'e'cha practically pounced on his brother, near frantic.

"She sneaked in alright, but I don't think she's coming back; her trophy case is empty and all her weapons and other stuff is gone. And…she left a note."

G're'e'cha snatched up the note, reading quickly.

"_I'm adopting the youngling. I don't want to push a kid on you guys so I moved out. Thanks for being a great hunting party and good friends. I'm getting my own ship built; it'll be call _The Silvashadow_, drop by some time. Ma'e'ka'cha gets my share of the ship. _

_Good hunting._

_Ver'ei'a'ka'cha."_

A look of horror spread across G're'e'cha's face as the words sank in.

"_What the pauk have I done?_"

End – Ch12


	13. Family

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now that I've said my bit, some useful info;

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

_Vocabulary:_

Kainde Amedha: hard meat/ xenomorph

Gaun-Thwei: night blood

Chiva: trial/ test

Setg'in kwei: tricky/ quick

Pyode Amedha: soft meat/ human (ooman)

Yeyinde: brave one

Pauk: fuck

Ell-osde c'jit: damn you

C'jit: damn/ shit/ general expletive

Pauk'de: fucking/ fucker

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Mei'hswei: brother (also use between close companions/clan mates)

Kerhite: training ground/training ring

Jehdin-jehdin: hand-to-hand combat (one-on-one)

Zazin: self-centered

Thwei'tek: blood bond (used to fuse strands of hair into dreadlocks)

M-di'h'dlak: no fear

Naxa: a kind of fruit from the Yautja home world

Thwei: blood

Sy'ua: wow/whoa (you get the idea)

Jehdin Jehdin: one on one/ hand to hand combat

Lou-dte kalei: child maker/female (usually a derogatory term)

Kantra: prayer

Ki'ct-pa: wrist blades

Awu'asa: armor

Cn'tlip: alcoholic drink

ki'its-pa: hunting spear

S'yuitde: shit (derogatory term)

Tbi: survivor

Paya: term of respect/ The Conquering One

U'sl-kwe: final rest/ death

_Enjoy the story ; P_

Chapter 13 – Family.

Veriea was surprised at just how much she could get for what she had.

The ship was going to be top of the line for its time; a miniature training vessel complete with kehrite but customized with other luxuries, like a botanics area, decent fire power, specialized thrusters for maneuverability and a central trophy case. She had designed the lay out of the triple leveled ship herself, with help from Kainde'a'ke'a and was very please with what would be hers and Tbi'e's home.

She grinned at the thought of Tbi'e

Kainde'a'ke'a had quickly and efficiently made a device that would act as Tbi'e's vocal cords but with the use of some modified neural links, she had also made it possible for him to control the volume and pitch as if it were his true voice. The only glitch was that his 'voice' sounded slightly electronic but that couldn't be helped. The real problem had been that his vocal cords were under developed and couldn't vibrate properly to make sound so an amplifier had been need to make the vibrations audible, which was the cause of the electronic lit to the noise. 3 days ago, with Veriea hovering close by, holding his tiny hand, a Healer had preformed the operation that gave Tbi'e his voice.

She smiled again.

His 'first word' had been 'Red' and he now refused to call her anything else.

It was hard for him to start learning the basics of speech so late in life, even though he understood the words but he was happily trying – and learning quickly – living up to his name and hanging in there. Kainde'a'ke'a was looking after him while she was out but they had spent that morning learning to say new words as she had dreadlocked his hair.

She brought her mind back to the present, to the male hunter who was in charge of the ship building operation.

"Do you think that it's possible for it to be finished before mating season starts?" She asked.

"It would be my pleasure to see that it is." The male purred.

Ugh. She grimaced on the inside. Not was she was going for.

No doubt he knew her track record – for some reason _every_ male she had encountered today had known that she had had a big fight with her 'Promised', had been pouring on the charm and showing off – and probably thought that she wanted a private place to take a mate, most likely hoping that being amiable would give him a good chance of being said mate.

Dammit. She was getting paranoid.

But she _had_ heard rumors about there being bets on whether she would take a mate or not and if so, who it would be. What on _Earth_ was it that made her the center of attention these days?

Ugh. Mental head slap.

A _hunt_. If there was one thing a Warrior male loved more than a hunt, it was a hunt for a female; and she had just made herself prey again in, apparently, a very obvious way and apparently, was the hardest prey to catch. She cringed at the thought of it. It almost made her wish she hadn't had a falling out with G're'e'cha. At least _he_ didn't just see her as some conquest. Though, given what he had said, it was a little disturbing to think about what he _did_ think of her.

Gods, she wished they'd just go away and mind their own business; there were plenty of things out there that were more interesting than her life, really there were.

Dammit, she was being paranoid again. Fame and infamy sucked.

"I'll come back later and drop off the designs." She said and quickly departed. Let the male have his fantasies; if it got her ship built faster she wasn't going to complain.

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha?" Someone called and she stiffened.

She knew that voice.

For a moment, the busy market place seemed to disappear and her anger kicked back with a vengeance as she saw him.

G're'e'cha.

She resisted the urge to tear into him right there and then long enough to get a good look at him. He looked worn down, like he hadn't slept much and a large bruise, a couple days old by the look of it, ringed his left eye. It looked painful and her fingers twitched with the urge to heal it.

She didn't like to see him in pain; she certainly didn't wish it on him. And with the bruise around his eye, he reminded her of Tbi'e, pulling at her heart strings.

Tbi'e.

She had briefly begun to think that maybe she could forgive him but his words floated through her mind.

Deformed.

Mutation.

Misfit.

She hadn't asked to be what she was and neither had Tbi'e. Who was he to say those things about them? Oh, she knew his comments had been directed at the youngling, but that he could say them when she was so much like Tbi'e, when he was supposed to be her 'Promised'; it spoke volumes about what he might really think about her. As worn and sorry as he looked now, how long might it be before he decided that he didn't want a 'deformed misfit' for a mate?

She wasn't about to lay down and play puppy; he had hurt her and she was going to make that hurt felt. And there was Tbi'e to consider too. G're'e'cha wouldn't want him but she was his mother now and if he didn't accept Tbi'e, he didn't accept her.

And it was better this way. She knew G're'e'cha was a good person, really, but he deserved better than her. This way, he wouldn't be forced to stay with her out of sense of duty once he found out; she wouldn't have to tell him, have to explain... She knew she would forgive him one day.

But it wasn't today.

She looked at G're'e'cha, making sure he knew she had seen him and then turned her back on him. The strength of the pain she felt from him made her wince.

It was better this way, she reminded herself.

This way, he wouldn't have to know how right he was.

Veriea moved more quickly, in case he was following her; if it hurt this much to feel his pain from that far away, she didn't want to experience it face to face.

The pain kept getting stronger and she started to run, heading for the outskirts.

Then she realized suddenly that the feelings weren't coming from behind her but that she'd been getting closer to the source. She turned to go back when she heard a mewling, whimpering sound and something about it tugged at her; someone or something near by was in terrible pain and her morals drove her to investigate. She pushed on towards the source, the pain growing sharper as she got closer, the force of it becoming so great that the pain began to manifest itself physically in her own body.

It was a raging pain in her abdomen, as if someone had torn out her insides and then stuffed the cavity with something hot and spiky, while even deeper down another pain burned, somehow familiar but in a way she could recall. Her head hurt too, making her feel dizzy, the effect of the continuous pain through her Empathic link, but she continued forward.

The pain became full-fledged as she found the source.

In front of her, weak and obviously dying was the Beast. It was on its side, its breath heavily labored, quivering, its massive body covered in slashes, eerie blue blood and patches where fur was missing – it looked like it had had one hell of a battle. It raised its head to look at her, a growl of warning rumbling from its throat.

She of all people knew that any animal was at its most dangerous when wounded, that went double for wild ones, yet she could sense _something_, something that urged her to help this creature. She could not just ignore something so desperately in need.

Veriea approached it slowly, in full view, hands raised in a non-threatening way, projecting a feeling of calm towards it, all the while alert and ready in case it attacked. The Beast growled a bit but eventually calmed, letting her grudgingly approach. Now that Veriea was up close, she could see that this was the same creature she had rescued Tbi'e from; she recognized the scar on its face. She sighed.

Someone up there obviously found playing around with her life very amusing.

Still ever cautious, she examined the Beast's wounds and knew there was nothing she could really do except give it a quick death; the damage was too extensive for her to completely heal with her magic. It would die, without a doubt.

A convulsion went through the Beast's body and it roared in pain. That was when Veriea noticed that its wounds were not the only source of blood flow and a recognizable scent on the air, beneath all the blood.

_It_ was a _she_ and _she_ was having contractions.

The damn thing was dying and giving birth at the same time. Now Veriea knew why it had backed off when she had confronted it; a small yautja was fair game but a full grown, creature, fierce, armed and ready for a fight, that was a danger to her unborn young, no matter how small and being obviously intelligent, she had made the decision to bow out – only to get torn up by some other threat. But it had allowed her to approach it.

Perhaps, instead, it had sensed her maternal instincts – she couldn't deny that seeing Tbi'e like that, so tiny and in danger had tugged hard at them – and had simply allowed a kindred mother figure to pass safely, now inducing a grudging, shaky bond of trust between them.

Whatever the reason, Veriea knew she was going to help the Beast as much as she could; the young deserved a chance to live.

Time blurred indistinctly as she acted midwife to the gigantic creature. She used her magic to heal what she could and to relieve the straining mother of pain, numbing the neural links for a time, conjuring small balls of fire to cauterize what wounds she could, stemming much of the blood flow, giving her and the unborn young as much time as possibly; until the time came for the first offspring to be born.

It tore at Veriea to see that helpless infant; the wounds had gone deeper than she had imagined, so deep that even the immense creature's womb had been breached, the unborn kit's amniotic sac shredded and its body mangled. Veriea found herself mourning the tiny life that had been cut so short, before it could even really begin but then the Beast roared in pain again and she hurried to attend her. That became the pattern.

Heal. Sooth. Deliver an infant.

Heal. Sooth. Deliver an infant.

She became so caked with the creature's blood that it looked as though she had a second, blue skin over the first and then…it stopped.

Out of the13 kits the Beast had birthed, 8 had been killed inside the womb, born dead, 3 others dying soon after, leaving only 2 surviving male offspring. Veriea had cleaned them up and laid them next to their mother to suckle, who was now emitting a deep thrumming purr in the lull of her pain, like a content mother cat. Or a lioness. A _really big_ lioness.

For a moment Veriea simply stood there, quietly, observing the blind, furry kits in wonder. She wasn't their mother but she had assisted them into this world and she felt satisfied with that at least; it was not something one got to do every day.

It occurred to her to wonder why she had never seen these creatures before, or even heard tell of them. Could it be that the yautja did not know of their existence? Even with their ability to disguise their body heat, surely something _this_ big they would know about. When she'd described the Beast to Kainde'a'ke'a she had said didn't know of any creature like that, but that the yautja did not know everything that resided in the vast jungles of their planet, the deepest parts were inaccessible, even for them, so any variety of creatures could reside there without their knowledge. But this was so close to the city, what was it doing here? And what could have injured it so?

Veriea snapped to attention as a roar ripped through the calm, ringing in her ears.

The Beast was in pain again, beside her, the kits made mewling, whimpering noises of distress, sensing the pain of their mother. Veriea laid her hands on the Beast to rid her of the pain and… nothing. Her magic had been exhausted. She could do no more to ease the creature's suffering. Slowly she made her way to its head.

She knew what she had to do.

The Beast whimpered in pain and Veriea felt for her, the pain echoing with in her own body. Veriea stroked her head gently and though the whimpering continued, it lessened, the mother soothed a little by the contact with the creature she had learned to trust the in the last few hours, for her young's sake if nothing else, a kindred mother. There was no greater bond than that between mother and child and few understood just what a mother would go through, would do for their child. Veriea understood all too well and that was why she knew she had to do this.

As she continued to stroke her, Veriea located a soft part of its head at the base of its skull and unsheathed her ki'cti-pa to their full length. The mother jerked and growled but Veriea remained calm and kept stroking soothingly; she knew it was empty threat anyway, the mother was too weak and it knew it.

"Easy, paya, " She whispered in the Beast's ear. The Beast could live for another few hours probably, but they would be filled with pain and she deserved better than that. Veriea brought her ki'cti-pa gently to rest on the soft spot. "M-di h'dhak, paya," She whispered again, knowing it probably didn't understand but would respond to her tone of voice. "Your young are in good hands and the end will be quick. Go to you u'sl-kwe paya, and know they are safe."

With one sharp movement, it was over.

The Beast's muscles went slack and its last breath sighed out of its lungs in a death rattle. "Run swift." Veriea whispered, reciting an ancient forenien farewell, her voice catching in her throat.

How fitting that it was she who found this mother in need, that only two male kits survived, their coloring dark, their feline and canine qualities…That was a long time ago. She needed to focus on the present.

Thanking the gods that she had happened to have all of her gear on her, she removed a large collection vial and moved around the quickly cooling body. It seemed that all the heat it had been absorbing was now being released in one big rush, sending sweltering waves rolling off of it. She collected as much of the mother's milk as she could, knowing that the kit's continued survival would depend on her being able to either replicate it or find something as close as extra-terrestrially possible to nourish them until they were on solids.

Veriea scooped up the kits and secured them to her with a length of acid proof cord that was meant for holding trophies. The two kits didn't protest at all, hanging sleepily around her shoulders, full and happy from their meal and comforted by the scent of their mother. It made her smile to feel their warm furry bodies against her skin, as if they were her own pups and she was carrying them home after a tiring day.

_My ship designs are going to need some adjustments_. She thought wryly.

She started back towards home, leaving the bodies to return to the earth and the Gia from which they had come. She smirked as the people she passed, warrior and civilian alike, stared at her blood covered skin, yet did not and could not see the two kits riding across her shoulders, who would undoubtedly cause a bigger stir; she almost wished to come across someone wearing a hunting mask just to see the reaction.

When she reached the stall it seemed to be empty so she assumed that Kainde'a'ke'a had needed to run an errand and had taken Tbi'e with her. She set the kits down in the hammock that had been put up for her and Tbi'e, as the youngling had insisted on sleeping in the same bunk, and then went about removing her gear.

"_Red!_"

Veriea started at the small, frightened cry and her ki'cti-pa shot out reflexively, ready to face the threat. What she found instead was Tbi'e, clinging to one of the hammock's hanging supports, staring down, wide-eyed with fright at the two kits who were now squirming around. She chuckled, relaxing.

"They won't hurt you, Tbi'e, their only babies. Come down here." She said gently, reaching for him and he climbed down into her arms, keeping an eye on the kits.

"They like the thing that hurt me…" He whispered roughly in his electronic voice.

"Wait, you can _see_ them?" She asked, forgetting to correct his grammar. He nodded and hid his face in her shoulder.

_Maybe his eyes are a lot more different than we thought_. She mused. She had never thought to ask if his vision was any different given their startling colour.

"They aren't going to hurt you Tbi'e. They're going to live with us. They're…" She trailed off, thinking. Pets? No. The intelligence she'd seen in the mothers eyes... "…Your new little brothers." Tbi'e's eyes went wide.

"Brothers? They got tails…" Veriea couldn't help but laugh as she flicked her own tail up to tickle him.

"I've got a tail too, remember?" She pointed out as he giggled – or at least the yautja equivalent of a giggle – and then snuggled into her arms.

"Ok." He yawned, his eyes fluttering closed.

"Come on, back into bed." Placing him down in the hammock. "You're still recovering from your operation and you need your rest."

Tbi'e muttered something incoherent as she pulled the covers over his tiny form. The two kits squirmed and squeaked a bit but they quickly calmed as she settled them beside him.

"What are they?"

Veriea turned with an exhausted smile to Kainde'a'ke'a who was standing behind her, a mask on her face, looking over her shoulder at the kits.

"Off spring of the Beast I saved Tbi'e from, the same one in fact." She recounted the events for her friend as she began removing her gear, cleaning it and herself of the blood and gore, before storing it away safely. Her friend shook her head, chuckling.

"You always seem to be in the middle of things, and getting wiped out by them; I was standing just over there the entire time and you didn't notice, even though you looked around."

Veriea was a little embarrassed at that but the drain on her systems, magical and emotional, was taking its toll and she couldn't care too much about it at the moment.

"I attract it, I guess." She shrugged and smiled softly. "My little family is growing."

"You have a big heart, Ver'ei'a, another hunter would have simply walked away or put it out of its misery sooner. Of course, they wouldn't have known it was about to bare but even if they did, they would not have done what you did." She sighed and looked down at where she knew the kits were, nestled snugly against Tbi'e. "And now you have two of its offspring; it's an amazing opportunity but are you sure you aren't getting in over your head? You already have a youngling to care for..."

Veriea sighed but it was a sound of content. Were she still forenien she would have possibly even more pups to look after - they had anywhere between 2 and 7 pups - so 3 was comparatively a walk in the park. She was happy enough with the situation.

"I'll take the punches as they come; it's all I can do."

End - Ch13


	14. Blood

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

Chapter 14 – Blood

Veriea sat in the hammock watching Tbi'e and the Kits play in the other room. She was on pup-watch today while Kainde'a'ke'a was running errands. As they moved into mating season, she would be stuck in the stall more often to avoid amorous males, so she figured she aught to get used to it.

The kits had grown much faster than she had thought they would. In only four weeks they had nearly tripled in size, strength and weight and seemed determined to follow Veriea around, nibbling on her fingers and toes and pouncing on her tail. Young as they were, they seemed to be fairly intelligent, almost sentient, and they had certainly learned to understand when they were in trouble. They also seemed to respond well to commands projected through her Empathic link but that, being based on emotions, limited the things she could convey to them. A kind of 'reward and punishment' system using emotions had formed and that seemed to work best.

Tbi'e adored them once he had gotten over his initial shock and they now rough-housed and played together as if they really were siblings. She swore all three of them were growing bigger by the day and she wouldn't have been surprised if they were, considering how much they ate.

Veriea sighed, leaning back into the hammock and then yelped as Dusk swiped at her dangling tail, his claws catching painfully.

"Dusk!" She growled. "Go play with Midnight and Blue!" Dusk scampered off, knowing he was in trouble.

Dusk was what she had named the smaller of the two kits because his blue-black fur was trimming in a dusky grey, unlike his larger brother, whose fur was trimmed in midnight blue and striped with red. And Blue...that was Tbi'e's self proclaimed nickname; he'd decided somehow that if she was 'Red', then he would be 'Blue'. She kind of liked it really. It was cute.

She was was a little worried about him though. For a two year old, even a yautja two year old, he thought about things too much, analyzed them too much. Even though he could speak now, he stayed quiet mostly and liked tinkering with Kainde'a'ke'a's smaller gadgets - he knew better than to touch the larger (and more dangerous) ones - examining them closely and trying to figure out how they worked. She supposed it was only because he still wasn't used to talking to people yet but she hoped she would be able to help him through it.

Veriea groaned a little as she got up to go and wash the green blood out of her tail fur before it dried. She loved those kids, she really did and she didn't regret saving them for a moment but sometimes they just drove her nuts.

Damn maternal instincts.

Veriea couldn't wait until the ship was ready; then they would all have the whole botanics bay to keep themselves amused. A small stall really wasn't the place to raise three growing, energetic, rambunctious youngsters. And she could have her tail back. Ahhh...no more clawed tail to mend...maybe even a full night's sleep without being pounced on...pure bliss. Just then, she heard someone call from the door way.

A message for her; her ship had been completed.

Access codes in the envelope.

What the-? Her wish had come true! Hell YES!

Ask and the universe shall provide!

Veriea very nearly kissed the male delivering the message but thought better of it when she remembered that mating season started in two days and that the male probably wouldn't know that it was a gesture of appreciation - he might think she was attacking him. She instead settled for a loud "Woo Hoo!" and a small leap of joy, startling the male enough to make him flinch back.

"Red?" Tbi'e asked, looking into the room, the kits right behind him.

"_The Silvashadow_ is ready! We're moving in right now." She said happily.

"What about Kainde'a'ke'a?"

"Silly," She said, picking him up. "We aren't _leaving_, just moving in. Think about it; your own bedroom. No having to share with your brothers."

Tbi'e grinned.

Someone coughed. The messenger was still there.

"Pe'ci'e'cha also said that he wanted to talk with you." The male said, looking over the scene with interest.

"Yeah, I just bet he does." Veriea grumbled, recognizing the name of the hunter in charge of the ship construction yard. "You can let him know I'll speak with him once we're settled in."

The male nodded and left.

"Do I really get my own room?" Tbi'e asked. looking up at her, wide-eyed.

"Yes, you really do, Dusk and Midnight get the gardens so it's only fair that you get your own room." She answered, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"But I want to stay with _you_. " He said quietly.

_Must be those nightmares. _She thought sympathetically.

"Ok, you can keep sleeping in my bed; it more than big enough." She relented. "But we need to get packed up and move in so we can find Kainde'a'ke'a , so let's get to it."

"Ok!"

(^_^)

It took them nearly the rest of the day to get everything they needed packed away and night was almost upon them as they made their last trip between the stall and _The Silvashadow_, arms laden with odds and ends, and Kainde'a'ke'a still hadn't returned.

_Probably with Ker'e'aka starting the festivities early._ Veriea thought with a grin, shifting the heavy box in her arms. Her ability to Vanish and Call things hadn't progressed enough to carry large amounts of things yet – only her personal weapons so far, so they had to do things the hard way. Tbi'e was beside her, one hand fisted in her tail fur - as he had become accustomed to doing whenever he went anywhere with her - and the other clutching at the collapsed canvas of the hammock, which was folded and thrown over his shoulder. Even Dusk and Midnight were helping; each were carrying one of her pouches around their necks, each full of small bits and bobs and miscellaneous items.

"Red, I'm hungry." Tbi'e said, tugging on her tail gently but not whining as most children would.

The kits both gave a little squeak as if to say, "Us too!". They always seemed to know when food was being discussed. Veriea gave a little laugh as they passed the construction yard gates, giving the guards a nod, which they returned, having seen her going in and out all afternoon.

The ship sat gleaming in the fading light, looking every bit the efficient, lethal machine she'd designed it after. When humans had wanted to build a flying machine, they had looked to nature and designed it in the form of birds. With the technology of the yautja at her disposal, she had the means to take it one step farther and anyone who was familiar with Terran fauna would recognize the efficient killer in _The Silvashadow_'s design; the dragonfly.

Veriea tapped in an access code into her wrist computer and by the time they were at _The Silvashadow_, the ramp was finishing it's decent to the ground, waiting for them. Another thing thing she loved about having designed the ship herself; all the quirky little extras, like having most of the ship functions and access codes keyed into her computer. As they stepped onto the ramp and began to ascend, Veriea rested the box on her hip and patted Tbi'e on the head, smiling down at him.

"We'll get something thrown together once we get this lot sorted, ok? I'm rath-" She stopped, mid-sentence, freezing. She cocked her head to one side, her ears straining forward, as if listening for some small sound. Veriea's blood rushed in her ears, her heart pounded in her chest and a sickening feeling of dread slid heavily in her stomach like a stone; something was wrong. So very, very wrong.

"Red?"

Tbi'e's innocent, confused and slightly frightened voice jarred her into motion.

She jumped the remaining distance into the ship, dumped the box and hoisted Tbi'e up, then yanked Dusk an Midnight up by the napes of their necks. "Red?" Tbi'e asked again, more frightened now as both her ki'cti-pa and ki'its-pa appeared in her hands, though nothing else. With a slight wince she attached the ki'cti-pa and then knelt in front of Tbi'e, laying her ki'its-pa beside her and taking his shoulders in hand.

"Listen to me, Tbi'e. I have to go, Kainde'a'ke'a's in trouble. _Do not leave the ship._ You know where everything is and you know the codes already, lock the door once I'm gone and don't open it for _anyone_. Don't even answer the com-link. Just wait here until I come back. Can you do that for me Tbi'e?" He nodded and she smiled at him and hugged him fiercely. "That's my boy." She whispered in his ear and then released him, snatching up her spear and then leapt from the air lock doorway and hit the ground running, heading for the gates.

Tbi'e hit the button to close the door but before it could shut , the kits jumped from the opening, tumbled and then started after Veriea.

"Dusk! Midnight! Come back!" He yelled but they ignored him, running as fast as their little legs allowed.

Tbi'e was torn; the kits could get hurt but he'd promised to stay on the ship. Eventually he decided that he would have to stick to his promise and entered the code for lock-down. He just hoped that Veriea and the kits would be alright; he didn't want to lose his new family.

(O.O)

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha!" Someone called off to the side and she jerked her head in that direction.

Pe'ci'e'cha.

Her mind whirled.

He could get reinforcements.

"This is an emergency," She said, cutting off whatever the warrior had been about to say and the words seemed to have an immediate effect on him. "I need you to find Arbitrator Ker'e'aka and tell him that his Life Mate is in danger. Find a healer as well and then head due North-East from the main gates."

"What-"

"She doesn't have time for this! GO!" Veriea snarled, jolting the male into action, while she ran on, through the gate and into the forest, letting her instincts guide her.

She didn't know how she knew it was Kainde'a'ke'a in trouble or how she knew exactly where she was but she knew exactly what she was feeling among the fear and blinding pain and she knew she was calling out; Kainde'a'ke'a was calling out to her for help.

She followed that link, that cry, unerringly, instinct ruling the chaos her mind had become since first hearing the cry, her heart in her chest thumping painfully, seeming to be in her throat, restricting her air supply. Her blood was thrumming. She knew what was happening to Kainde'a'ke'a and it made her skin crawl, made every hair on her body stand on end, would have paralyzed her with fear if it were not for the desperate need to find her friend and stop it before it was too late.

She had to get there before it was too late.

In her mind, something dark was screeching - _danger, danger, kill threat, danger, danger_ - like a mantra, over and over again until it had drowned out everything else and was the sole strain of thought that made any sense.

As she descended in to that dark place, she never realized that she had dropped to a four-footed run, her ki'its-pa shoved through the strap of her top on her back to leave her un-hindered, and she could not know that her eyes had darkened once more to shiny black orbs which, strangely, reflected nothing in their depths. She could hear the roaring now, Kainde'a'ke'a's cries for help and Veriea no longer thought.

Her senses guiding her, she leapt over a bush in her way and tackled something massive to the ground, rolling neatly away herself to crouch once more between Kainde'a'ke'a and danger.

Apparently the same danger.

Behind her, curling into a protective ball around her expanded belly, lay Kainde'a'ke'a, her body battered, her breath strenuously labored, dark green bruises marking her legs, arms, torso, face, bleeding from cuts and wounds everywhere, bleeding from...everywhere. She needed help, soon.

In front of her was the cause; two males, _the_ two males who she had run off when she had first met Kainde'a'ke'a', both standing there, nonchalant, their loin cloths lying on the ground a few feet away, making it painfully obvious what they had been doing.

"Look at that, Mal'e'ka'cha," One of the said, seemingly uncaring that they had been caught in the act. "It's the _pet_."

It didn't even register in her mind at the time that one of them at least was the son of an Elder or a Clan Leader. She only knew that they had hurt her friend, rapped her, and that made them something which all honorable yautja despised.

_"Bad bloods!"_ She spat, growling, though somewhere deep in her throat a hiss was rising.

She lunged at them but found herself knocked back to the ground, surrounded by a hunting net which began to tighten around her. She remembered her ki'its-pa and while she still had room to maneuver, rolled onto her side so that one end of the spear dug into the earth and the other stuck up into the air, catching a thread of the net, holding it. The net continued to shrink, slicing into her left shoulder and arm, the sides of her thighs, her shins and knees, her ears and even her dreadlocks and face and she bared her teeth in pain but did not cry out. The ki'its-pa was holding, the net straining to try and continue to tighten and she used what little space she had to reach behind her, her muscles protesting at the strain and awkward angle, the net bitting into her flesh before she managed to press the release button.

The spear periscoped to it's full length, ripping the net from the ground and she twisted to grab her ki'its-pa then faced the bad bloods. If there was one phrase to express the looks on their faces, it was "Oh pauk."

They had not expected her to be able to get free. They had expected her to die a painful death, getting sliced to bits while they continued where they had left off.

They had underestimated the 'pet' for the last time.

Veriea was beyond rage. With predatory precision she moved in on the two males.

She did not see as she tore into them.

She did not hear as they roared in pain, the sound reduced to gurgling whimpers.

She did not feel as their warm blood splattered, covering her hands, chest and face.

She did not care as she left them, very much still alive, to slowly die, painfully bleeding to death.

As she moved back from that dark place, Veriea immediately went to Kainde'a'ke'a's side, heedless of the her own injuries, not even remembering how she acquired them - a broken hand and fractured forearm, a twisted knee, yet another deep gash in her abdomen though not very deep, as well as the grid pattern slices which oozed blood - and poured all her strength into healing Kainde'a'ke'a, focusing particularly on her friend's womb, hoping against hope that the unborn child was alright, for both it's own sake and that of its mother.

The males were still alive, indicated by their yells as small creatures came and started nibbling on them but Veriea tuned them out, concentrating all she had on keeping Kainde'a'ke'a alive and with her. She didn't even notice when Dusk and Midnight approached her, nestled by her sides and licked her wounds. They did not make any noise, as if they understood the situation; that's how they were found, half an hour later.

And the males were still screaming.

End- Ch 14


	15. Maelstrom of Inner Chaos

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

Chapter 15 – Maelstrom of Inner Chaos

"Warrior Ver'ei'a'ka'cha?"

Veriea lifted her head slowly and saw a healer looking down at her.

"Is she alright?" She asked in barely a whisper. She had given her all to keep Kainde'a'ke'a' alive and was exhausted by the drain, physically, mentally and magically but she continued to force herself to stay awake; she had to know that her friends was alright.

Both Dusk and Midnight had fallen asleep ages ago, curled up on either side of her where she sat in the hall outside the infirmary, huddled against the wall. Both their fur was matted with blood from her wounds. Veriea had only spared enough magic to stem the blood flow, not fully heal them, her focus on Kainde'a'ke'a's well being. Not her own.

The healer looked fidgety, not quite able to meet her gaze with her own as she looked up at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

"We had to induce labor or the child would have died – a little female. She's almost half a rotation premature and will have to spend a few weeks in the infirmary, maybe a couple months, but she'll be fine."

"And the mother? Kainde'a'ke'a?"

"She...bowed before the Black Warrior." The healer answered hesitantly.

Veriea closed her eyes.

She had not done enough. Kainde'a'ke'a had passed from the land of the living, leaving behind a daughter and a Life Mate.

And it was her fault.

She should have acted sooner. Run faster. Fought harder. Should have been stronger. Should have been a better healer so that she could have saved Kainde'a'ke'a as well. How many mothers was she going to be too late to save? How many was she going to be too weak to heal, to have to watch die, with their blood on her hands? Too many already.

Would Kainde'a'ke'a have even been in danger if she, Veriea, had not stuck her nose where it didn't belong, aggravating those males in the first place all those rotations ago and continued to do so? She had been looking out for her friend but had she ultimately ensured her death at their hands? She raised her pleading eyes to the healer.

"Was she in pain...when she went?" She shook her head.

"We administered strong pain-numbers for the birth; she wouldn't have felt a thing."

_At least she did not suffer more..._

Veriea began to get up to leave but the healer stopped her. "Wait, you need your injuries tended to."

"I'm fine." She ground out. "They aren't very deep." She lied, standing fully, ignoring the pain as she did so and gathered up Dusk and Midnight, not caring about how strange her actions looked to the healer who couldn't see them. With a last nod in her direction Veriea left.

As she made her way out of the Healer Camp, every time she moved her twisted knee she bit deeper into her tongue to keep from crying out, her hand jolting with every step she took, already having blossomed into several foul-looking shades of colour. She deserved this pain; Kainde'a'ke'a had undoubtedly felt worse before her own late arrival. And even though she knew she was making her injuries worse by ignoring them like this, _she_ – unlike Kainde'a'ke'a, she thought spitefully to herself – had the luxury of magical, almost instantaneous healing.

_But would she have wanted you to beat yourself up like this?_ A tiny voice in her mind asked.

_No._ She answered herself. Kainde'a'ke'a wouldn't be that spiteful, wouldn't blame her.

She had been such a kind soul, despite the hand life had dealt her; she hadn't deserved to die, certainly not like _that_, at the hands of males like _that. _She wished so badly that she had hurt them more, made them suffer more, like Kainde'a'ke'a had suffered, made them truly regret having ever thought about doing what they had done.

But, she supposed, there wasn't much more she could have done to them; having both your arms and legs broken and your innards spilled around you, then left to slowly bleed to death as small forest creatures gnawed on you and your stomach acids slowly and agonizingly liquefied the rest of your organs was a hard punishment to improve on. In any case, they were dead now.

The ultimate irony and surprise was that one of them – Mal'e'ka'cha – had been Arbitrator Ker'e'aka's own offspring and he had first heard of Kainde'a'ke'a through the blooded warrior as he complained of a "bad tempered Teki'ke'a' runt". Just goes to show that genealogy wasn't everything. Veriea felt sorry for him though; he had lost both a son and a Life Mate on the same day and very nearly his daughter as well. She wouldn't be surprised if the Arbitrator blamed her for his loses.

She had reached the Construction Yard now and she rubbed her eyes, her body screaming out for rest, to lay down and sleep away the turmoil of her thoughts.

One of things that bothered Veriea most was that she couldn't cry for Kainde'a'ke'a.

She wanted to, no doubt about that, but yautja didn't cry; her brain still remembered how to cry, even produced that familiar prickling sensation behind her eyes but no amount of emotion or will could force a body to cry when it was physically incapable of producing tears. It felt wrong to her, that she could not shed tears for the female she had so recently claimed as mother, mentor and friend.

And the child left motherless.

Who would raise her? Care for her? Would her father? She knew that a child born from a Life Mate couple was different than those born of the usual mating season couplings but she wasn't sure exactly what responsibilities were tied to the parents in a case like this. Usually, if a child was orphaned or the mother was unable to care for it, it would be adopted by a related female or even an unrelated one if a female relative could not be found. There was always someone willing to take in a needing child and they were the future of the race, hence the law against abandonment. She would find out tomorrow and she would adopt the child herself if need be; one more would not be much trouble and she would be happy to see Kainde'a'ke'a's daughter cared for.

But for now, she had to return to _The Silvashadow_ and Tbi'e.

Gods, how was she going to explain this to Tbi'e? She had been gone hours already, he was probably scared and worried already and now she had to tell him that Kainde'a'ke'a was dead. All the more reason to hurry back she supposed; there was nothing to be gained by putting it off.

The kits were awake and squirming by the time she had reached the ship so she set them down as she came to the descending ramp and they began to play around her feet as she punched in the entry access code.

What she saw when the doors opened made the blood freeze in her veins.

Pe'ci'e'cha was holding Tbi'e up in the air by the nape of his neck and looked for all the world as if he were about to hit him.

Veriea's nerves were shot to hell and her inhibitions were already worn dangerously thin by the events of the night, so it was no surprise that what was left of her restraint was cut to hang by a single thread when she saw what appeared to be someone threatening one of the few things she truly loved. Her ki'cti-pa shot out to full length with a sickening _snick_ and even though she only took one step inside cargo bay doors, her blood-stained form was more than merely intimidating.

"Put. Him. Down." She ground out, her voice filled with the effort of clinging to that last strand of sanity, her eyes focused, of their own accord, on the twitching pulse in the male's neck. The monster in her chest snarled and tore at her self control when the male didn't immediately comply and she took another step forward, limbs shaking with the effort of holding herself back from opening up his veins.

To say the male was surprised at her appearance was an understatement and he did a poor job of trying to hide it.

"I caught this runt sneaking around your ship." He said, trying to cover his fluster. "Claimed he was yours too." He added with a more confident scoff, looking disgustedly at the struggling Tbi'e.

"He is." She hissed, near losing it at his use of the word 'runt' but still struggling to keep her temper in check. "Put him down. _N_ow._" _Her words dripped with venom and the promise of painful things to come if not obeyed and it had the desired effect on the male.

Pe'ci'e'cha hastily put the youngling down and Tbi'e rushed to Veriea, flinging his arms around her legs tightly, reminiscent of the day she found him. The kits, unnoticed until now, were peering around from behind her and she could have sworn they were glaring at the male. Tbi'e was muttering incoherent things and Veriea whispered gently in his ear as she retracted her wrist blades, disengaged his hold and picked him up, resting him on her hip as she buried her face in his neck, taking in his scent, assuring herself that he was unharmed.

She was some what calmer now that she was holding him and she gave Pe'ci'e'cha a death glare. "So, what are _you_ doing on my ship?" She asked acidly. "And more importantly; how did you get on it? I changed all of the codes on my first trip here this afternoon."

"I noticed. What's the matter? Think someone will steal it straight out of the yard?" He chuckled.

Veriea tightened her hold on Tbi'e.

"I have a child to care for; this isn't a safe environment if someone can get in without my knowledge." She glared at him pointedly.

"Safe? It's a pauk'de ship! Of course it's not safe for a youngling, especially one under a rotation old. You should be staying on planet for-"

"He's two." She interrupted. "And he's a very intelligent two year old. He's safe here if it's secure and _you_ didn't answer my question."

They locked eyes for a moment before he finally looked away.

"Master Code. Every ship has one for the duration of the time they're in the construction yard and then get a new one when they move that's given to the Elders and Arbitrators of the owner's Clan. It's for emergencies."

"And what was the emergency?"

"You said it was an emergency." He smirked.

"That was hours ago." She growled. "And you certainly didn't turn up with the others."

He considered her for a moment and seemed to realize that his charm routine wasn't working.

"There are some extra fees for the early finish." He said, trying a different tact.

"Didn't mention anything about those before hand." She said evenly, realizing he was intent to get something out of this, either to bed her or scam her. "How much."

He thought for a second.

"Thirty creds." She couldn't stop the shock from showing on her face. He wasn't trying to scam her, he was trying to down right rob her! The male smiled. "If you don't have it, we can maybe work out an arrangement?"

_Pauk'de little s'yuitde. _Veriea thought vehemently as she stomped past him. Sure, she was paranoid but sometimes she _really_ hated it when she was right.

30 creds was a tenth of what the whole ship was worth. She had about 60 creds left over from all the jobs she'd been doing, about 20 of it in trade worthy goods but she'd been planning on using that to stock the ships supplies and ending up 30 creds in the hole was not a thing to scoff at.

But she didn't have the choice of bartering with him right now. He was shooting fish in a barrel; he was going to get one or the other and there was only one thing she could stand to lose and still respect herself.

She pulled a bag from a secret compartment in the wall where she'd hidden it earlier, grabbed the 30 cred chips and slammed them into his waiting hand, though he seemed surprised that she had that much sitting around.

"There. Now get off _my_ ship." He grabbed her hand tightly before she could pull it away, not ready to call it quits yet.

"I've seen your etching. You could make back those creds in no time detailing ships for me, Double, triple it even.." Obviously he'd seen how much she had given up with those creds. He gentle stroked her hand with his thumb. "There could be other benefits as well."

_No way in Hell do I need the creds _that_ badly._ She thought.

As a general thing, she like the yautja, how they did things tended to make sense for the most part and they had an ingrained sense of honor. But in her experience it produced far to many pauk'de zazin males.

Why was it she mostly got to meet the bad eggs?

She growled and bared her teeth in a snarl.

"I came in here to see you threatening my son. You had come uninvited and unwelcome. You practically just robbed me of thirty creds, when I could probably report your ass to somebody but I let it slide. And now you expect me to jump at the offer to work for _you?_ I'll say it again; _get off my ship. _I've already diced two zazin males tonight, I would love to make it three. Just give me _one_ reason."

He glared at her for a moment before releasing her hand and headed for the air lock. She blocked the key pad with her wrist computer for a moment. "Oh, and if you ever lay a hand on me or my son again, you will lose it. That's a promise." She released control on the doors and Pe'ci'e'cha left without another word.

Veriea slumped down against the wall, Tbi'e still clinging to her and the kits jumped into her lap, making it rather crowded.

"Red?"

"Mm?"

"Do I have to call you mother now?" She laughed a little at the question.

"Not if you don't want to, kiddo." Veriea smiled at him.

"Red? Where's Kainde'a?"

Veriea sighed. She had to tell him now.

"Tbi'e, Kainde'a isn't coming back. Bad bloods got her. I was...I was too late."

They sat in silence for a moment, not a sound but that of their breathing and the kits whines as they snuggled closer.

Then Tbi'e hugged closer to her, his tiny arms tight about her shoulders.

"It's ok, Red." He said softly. "You still have us."

Veriea's chest tightened painfully at his words, profoundly touched by his innocent understanding and concern. How could someone so young understand so clearly?

Her breath caught in her throat as she clung to him, lost for words.

There was nothing more to say.

End - Ch15


	16. Honor

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

Chapter 16 - Honor

Veriea awoke to the sound of a trilling giggle and something licking her face.

She groaned, inducing another bout of laughter. She rolled over and fell off the edge of her bed, dragging the sheets and the giggler over the edge as well. She winced as a squirming body, tangled in the blankets, landed heavily on her stomach, sending the air rushing out of her with a 'whoosh'. She yelped as two more bodies fly-tackled her.

"Alright! Alright! I'm up!" Veriea growled, half-heartedly swatting them away.

She froze as she heard deep chuckling nearby.

She hastily pulled the sheets from over her head, jumping to her feet and taking an offensive stance, thinking that Pe'ci'e'cha had returned. What she saw instead was Arbitrator Ker'e'aka looking over the scene with a mild amusement.

"Good morning. Young Tbi'e let me in. He didn't tell me you were still asleep though; I didn't mean to wake you." He said, a mournful tone to his voice. It had only been two days since Kainde'a'ke'a's death.

"Um, that's alright. I should be up by now anyway. " Veriea replied after a hastily head bow. She shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "I am sorry about Kainde'a'ke'a." She added softly. The Arbitrator's eyes turned sad.

"As am I. It shames me that one of my own blood line could stray so far from the path of Honor; even more so that I had no idea of his intentions, despite being so close to him."

"I am sorry for your losses, Arbitrator." Veriea said, her eyes downcast.

"Please, do not use such formalities with me, young Ver'ei'a'ka'cha. Kainde'a'ke'a spoke of you often and thought very highly of you, even considered you as a daughter. As her Life Mate...widower...and considering what you have done for her – for our daughter – I consider you family also. Please, call me Ker'e."

Veriea stared for a moment, stunned at what was being offered. She had expected anger. She had expected resentment. She had expected blame. But instead she had been handed the figurative olive branch. She bowed her head.

"I do not deserve such honor." She whispered.

She heard a sigh and footsteps coming closer. A large hand forced her to look up into Ker'e'aka's amber eyes.

"Kainde'a'ke'a and Elder Ka'e'aka both told me that you were an unusually modest and shy one but I didn't believe him until now. For such a fierce warrior, who even Cetanu smiles upon, this humble demeanor is not very becoming of you. Why do you believe yourself so unworthy?"

"I failed to save her."

There was no doubt who was being discussed.

"Because of you, I had the opportunity to say good by to Kainde'a'ke'a, to be secure in the knowledge that our child lives on and that the Bad Bloods who have taken her from me are dead. No other Yautja could have given me that; there is no need to fear you failed. You did all that was in your power to do and no one can blame you for that."

"Then why does it still feel so terrible? I should be used to loss by now...but it still hurts. It never _stops hurting_."

She was talking half to herself now and it was apparent to Ker'e'aka that this warrior, still barely more than a pup really, had suffered a loss such as this at least once before in her life. She was clearly distraught and he felt awkward, not used to dealing with females in this state, even as an Arbitrator.

What was upsetting her was not something he could conquer or remove to make things better; it was in her past, something he knew nothing about. So, as a father past and present, he did the only thing he could think of to comfort her, though he was slightly embarrassed as it was usually reserved for one's own offspring or mate.

He held her.

She stiffened immediately in his hold, still as a statue and for a moment he thought she might strike out at him. Then, all at once, she let herself go limp, leaning into him as if her life depended on his solid form being there. She trembled in his arms, not making a sound for a minute or more.

Finally, Veriea pulled away, looking and feeling very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Arbi-" Ker'e'aka gave a small growl, "-Ker'e, I forgot myself for a moment." She fidgeted, getting the distinct impression that he knew she was only pretending to be ok. "Was there something you required of me?"

"Nothing more than your time. I believe you had a visit from the Ship Yard Director a day or so ago?" He asked, deciding to drop the issue for now.

"Yes." Her slight growl was not lost on him.

"Then I believe these are yours." He handed her a small bag and she looked inside. What she found were the 30 cred chips she had handed over to Pe'ci'e'cha.

"How?" Veriea looked up at the Arbitrator who wore a slightly smug grin.

"I happened to over hear the s'yuitde bragging about his 'skills' as a sales person in one of the local s'emp'ars and confiscated these from him. I believe your sire was giving him a thorough chewing out when I left them."

"Thank you, these will make things easier for Tbi'e and I."

"May I ask why you chose to give them up in the first place? It was no small amount." Veriea looked him in the eyes.

"The other options available to me weren't acceptable. I wasn't going to fight him and put Tbi'e in danger and I wasn't going to give up my choice in mate."

"He tried to coerce you to take him as a mate?" Ker'e'aka snarled.

"He seemed to think I could be bought." Veriea clarified. "I only let him go intact because I wanted him out of my ship. Next time I meet him, he wont be so lucky."

_Nor when I next see him_. The Arbitrator thought to himself. This was exactly the kind of corruption the Arbitrators tried to stomp out.

"He will be dealt with." He said simply. " I have been speaking with your Clan Elders and you Clan Leader; they believe that your recent services to the city deserve a reward."

"I don't need anything in return. You've already returned my creds to me. I am content to simply continue my hunt and raise my child." Veriea answered honestly.

Really, she preferred to be away from the home planet; away from those who would judge and belittle her.

"They want to make you an Honored Warrior."

Veriea was speechless.

"An Honored? But – but I'm not even considered a Full Blooded Warrior yet; I haven't taken a mate."

"It is not so much taking a mate that completes your initiation, it is contributing to the continuation of the race. There are male and female warriors who are unable to produce young for whatever reasons, so they contribute by adopting orphans, like you have."

They really wish to make me an Honored Warrior?" Veriea asked again, still stunned. Ker'e'aka chuckled.

"The ceremony will be held at noon tomorrow; come to the Hall of Archives on The Clan Ship. No awu'asa or weapons are allowed to be worn during the ceremony. You also need to provide a symbol by which you'd like to be known. As an Honored, you will be qualified to teach unbloods prior to their Chiva and can present them with your symbol, as well as that of their chosen Clan, on successful completion."

The kits were playing on the bed behind her and as Ker'e'aka paused , she realized he would be able to see them if his hunting mask was on the correct vision mode.

"That's Dusk and Midnight. I found them in the jungle." She explained.

"You found two Ch'pek't pups?" Ker'e'aka asked, stunned.

"Ch'pek't? They are Ch'pek't pups?"

"Well, they certainly look like miniatures of the Ch'pek't I have seen in my time."

"But, they're the wrong colour..." Veriea mused, before remembering that yautja didn't really understand the concepts of color, with their heat sensitive eye sight.

And then it started to make sense to her.

Only full grown Ch'pek't had been seen by the yautja. The pelts she had seen contained only light colors, primarily white; a color that _reflected_ heat and light. Which would make the animal light up like a Christmas tree in a yautja's vision.

But the kits and their mother both had extremely dark coloring. Colors that _absorbed_ heat and light, rendering them effectively invisible to a yautja, unless they happened to be wearing their mask and had it in the correct vision mode needed to see them.

Given Ker'e'aka's observation, her theory made a lot of sense; many animals changed fur colour or even grew extra appendages in their maturity. The wonders of mother nature never ceased to amaze her. It also saddened her to realize that the kits mother must only have been a very young Ch'pek't, if her theory was true. She would not know for sure until Dusk and Midnight had matured themselves.

Ker'e'aka's chuckling broke Veriea from her thoughts.

"It seems you have disproved one of our myths, Veriea, and opened other mysteries to us. I would strongly suggest that you do not bring them outside until after the ceremony tomorrow, and that you mark them with your symbol. Some yautja might find the lure of such a novel pet – or trophy – too tempting if their carer is only a Young Blood. Good hunting to you, and I will see you tomorrow."

"Wait, what about your daughter? Who is taking care of her?" Veriea implored.

The old warrior sighed.

"For now, she is in the care of the Healers."

"If you do not object, when she is well enough, I would be honored to care for her."

Ker'e'aka had smile in wonder at the generosity of this young female's heart.

"And my daughter could have no better foster mother but I intend to raise her myself." He did not miss her slightly disappointed look. "Though I would certainly not object to frequent visits from her honorary sister." He added as he bowed his head in respect and let himself out, leaving Veriea standing there stunned and overawed.

End Ch 16


	17. Of Things Lost and Found

Disclaimer: Any character or theme or name and anything else from the movies/books I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Veriea and the species Forenien and anything else that pertains to her world previous to her 'encounter' as well as the individual characters that are not from the afore mentioned areas. These characters are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my characters or species I will send the real Veriea after them.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Pronunciations:_

Veriea: _Verr-ree-ah _

Ver'ei'a: _Veh-e-ah_

Forenien:_ For-en-ee-en_

Cartarea: _Car-tar-ay_

Chapter 17 - Of Things Lost and Found

Veriea left her ship shortly before noon the next day, Tbi'e in tow, having left the kits to play on the botanics bay, as Ker'e'aka had suggested.

She was nervous. She had no idea what might happen at this ceremony and no idea how others might react to even the idea of her being made an Honored Warrior. She only knew that she wished desperately that Kainde'a'ke'a was here. She would rather have her friend back than become Honored any day.

When they arrived at the Clan Ship, Ka'e'aka was waiting to meet them.

"I almost thought you'd jumped planet, daughter." He chuckled, shaking her shoulder in greeting.

"I can't honestly say it didn't cross my mind." She replied, though only half in jest. The Elder looked affectionately upon her.

"I know we have not spent much time together, but I have kept tabs on you, Ver'ei'a. You have made me very proud. I am proud to be known as your Sire, even if is only a title in truth."

For a moment, Veriea did not, could not speak. Events had been piling up, emotions building, old memories fading in and out of conscious thought almost like hallucinations; she was at breaking point, though no one seemed to see it.

She ducked her head, covering the motion by crouching to fiddle with the straps on Tbi'e's new 'formal' wear, which she had made. She herself was wearing her best or, more accurately, her best that did not include armor. It was a long, flowing garment of an opaque, gold and crimson shimmery material she had never been able to identify. It was open at the back, showing proudly the markings that traveled down her spine, low enough to allow her tail, completing the display effectively. The front and back panels extended down past her knees, splitting off into feathery tethers, while the bodice fitted nicely to her upper body without being too tight, fastened over her shoulders with a halter like neck and with loose hanging strips which looped her upper arms. All in all she felt rather out of her element but the garment had been a gift from Kainde'a'ke'a, who had insisted it brought out the unusual colors of her eyes and hair.

As she remembered, it occurred to Veriea that Kainde'a'ke'a must have been able to see in colour, like her. Perhaps that was why she had been such a great crafter? Remembering Kainde'a, Veriea stiffened her resolve and rose again to face her adopted Sire.

"Much of what I have achieved is due to you, father. With out your support, your claim to me, I don't believe that I could have made it quite as well on my own. You gave me a grounding, something solid to work from, you gave me a brother to look out for me and through him, many friends." Veriea paused, looking down to Tbi'e who seemed to be paying attention to everything being said. "I had no true opportunity to know my birth Sire and Dame, I was little more than a child really when I was...taken. You may not think you've done much for me but it is more than I ever could have hoped for to simply have a Sire to worry about me at all since then. For giving me that much, I am glad to make you proud."

Ka'e'aka smiled solemnly, leaning down to pat Tbi'e affectionately on the head.

"Come, the High Council is waiting and Arbitrator Ker'e'aka wished to speak with you before hand."

They walked further into the behemoth ship, Veriea keeping stride with the Elder while Tbi'e was granted a ride on his shoulders for most of the way. Males and females alike paused as they passed, some even turning back to look. Apparently the sight of Sire and daughter together was something unusual, or perhaps it was only the sight of the Elder with a youngling atop his shoulders, but Veriea felt more self-conscious for the the extra attention all the same. A hiss of whispers began to follow them.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a female, a young warrior if her attire was any indication, approached Veriea and bowed before her. Veriea was taken aback by the action and stopped dead in her tracks, as did Ka'e'aka. Veriea looked to her sire, completely flustered, unsure of what to do. Ka'e'aka motioned for her to speak to the female, seemingly unsurprised by the scenario that was unfolding. Veriea swallowed hard, aware that many eyes were now focused solely on her.

"Why do you bow to me? I am no Elder. Please, rise..." She said nervously. The female raised her eyes to meet Veriea's.

"You are as kind as they foretold, Chosen One. You give me, a mere youngling, the honor of standing equal to you. " Pride or else some kind of immense satisfaction tinted the young female's voice as she rose.

"_Chosen One_?" Veriea choked, acutely aware that the crowd around them was growing, the many Yautja now looking on and murmuring in interest. "I think you may have the wrong person, Young Blood. I am not chosen for anything." The warrior only smiled.

"The Priestess said you would not know. It is my duty to inform you." She answered, inclining her head. "It has been foretold by the Priestess, Am'er'an'a'aka, that the one reborn of Yautja blood and marked by the Black Warrior Himself, will draw together the descendants of Tee'e'ka'aka, previously shunted aside and ridiculed for their markings, and lead all Yautja to a glorious new beginning as the Chosen One comes into their own." The female looked up once more. "You are most surely the Chosen One; the grey-skins flock to you and none have ever borne the mark of the Warrior as you have."

Veriea was speechless, while, next to her, Elder Ka'e'aka seemed to be trying not to laugh at her expression. She shot him a pleading look.

"That is enough, Young Blood." Ka'e'aka said, seemingly taking pity on her. "I am aware of the Priestess's words, I will further inform her of the Prophecy but if the Chosen One does not get moving soon, she will be late for her audience with the High Council." Veriea only just caught herself from gaping at him.

"Of course, Elder." The warrior bowed. "I will leave this in your hands."

Ka'e'aka quickly pulled Veriea away from the crowd and through a doorway, before she could ask him any questions.

"Please tell me that was all a joke." Veriea asked as soon as the door had been closed behind them.

"Don't fancy leadership, Ver'ei'a?" A male voice answered from behind her. She turned to see Arbitrator Ker'e'aka standing by another door, obviously only having just come in.

"So you know about this too, Ker'e?"

"I do. The Priestess happens to be a close friend of mine." He nodded.

Veriea collapsed, rather gracelessly, into the nearest chair.

"I am _not_ some hero."

"That's a strange thing to say, for someone who has done the things you've done." Ka'e'aka murmured.

"I can't be the one spoken about in this prophecy; it's only by sheer luck that I'm even here at all!" She growled in return.

"Luck? Or Fate?"

"I don't believe in Fate." Veriea scoffed. "I believe that some instances in history are destined to occur, but that when, where and how they play out, depends on the _choices_ of those who participate in those instances. As I'm choosing not to participate, I am not the 'Chosen One' from this prophecy."

"It's not that simple Ver'ei'a." Ker'e'aka sighed. "How can you ignore the signs that confirm that you are the one from this prophecy?"

"What signs? Grey skins and this marking on my face? You yourself have grey skin, Ker'e. I don't see the significance."

"How many grey skins have you seen Ver'ei'a?" He asked, throwing her for a moment. As she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't seen many and that most of those were G're'e'cha, his brothers and Ma'e'ka'cha.  
"A few." She answered.

"That is because grey skin is the mark of being a direct descendant from the blood line of one of our greatest hunters, an Honored Warrior, Tee'e'ka'cha. Only those descended from him have ever had grey skin. They also have only green, or in rare cases, blue eyes. Haven't you noticed that all those who have allied themselves with you are grey skinned or descended from one with grey skin?"

Veriea blinked.

She hadn't noticed at all but she also hadn't realized that a yautja with grey skin was uncommon.

"What does this have to do with me?" She asked, still trying to figure out where Ker'e'aka was leading with this.

"How many of your prospective mates over the rotations have been grey?"

"I don't know, I wasn't interested." She answered pointedly.

"Greys are drawn to you Ver'ei'a, even more than they are drawn to each other. You are the key."

"Key to what?" Veriea growled, feeling as though she was being manipulated into something.

"The key to the survival of the Yautja." Ka'e'aka spoke up, startling Veriea as she had forgotten he was in the room. "As a people, we are too violent. Too primitive, for all our technology. Those with grey skin are different from us. They have gifts. They see as you see, in a world of color. They have more reason, more control, more feeling and more rationalization to temper their strengths. Tee'e'ka'cha was not grey skinned but his son was; he was the first. His dame was never known, for the child was born off planet and brought to the Homeworld by his sire. What if she were one of your kind? That would explain why those of his decent are drawn to you, even those not marked and gifted.

"The yautja as whole do not like change. Tee'e'ka'cha's son was accepted readily only because of his father and his children after him but eventually they were shunted aside. They are not ridiculed today as they have been but they are not considered normal by most of the population and it is from them that the so called 'mutations' originate." He looked fondly over at Tbi'e. "Young like your Tbi'e are abandoned despite the laws, and many Arbitrators will turn a blind eye because they too fear the change their gifts may bring. Just seeing how exceptional he is with mechanics and his hunting skills, excelling well beyond his age, it's clear that this view of them is far from correct. They are not mutation; they are evolution."

"And you expect me to lead this... revolution?" Veriea asked, disbelievingly. "Half of the yautja people despise what I am. A vast majority of the remainder, despite apparently wanting to sire pups by me, wouldn't spit on me if I were aflame. And you want me to what? Convince them that what they have always believed in is wrong? To be some sort of biblical figure for them? I am not a leader and I have no wish to be."

"But you are the key to change!" Ker'e'aka exclaimed. "Look how well you have adapted to yautja life, preserving your own, and still keeping with your own beliefs. There is so much yautja could learn from you and you've already proved that you are a brilliant teacher."

"Teaching is one thing," Veriea answered vehemently, "But I will not pretend to be something more than I am and a messiah, as you are making me out to be, I am not. If someone comes to me seeking my help, I will help but I will not set myself up as some sort of mystical savior and I will not try to force one person's way of thinking on others, however much I might agree with that way of thinking."

"But-" Ker'e'aka began to object.

"Enough." Veriea said quietly, hardly noticing that an Arbitrator and an Elder were obeying her. "I will not command respect because of a Prophecy, regardless of how esteemed the Prophet. Those singled out by Prophecy soon become ridiculed and martyred for any cause deemed worthy. The worst thing to do, if you wish to push this issue, would be to single me out and try to enforce any special treatment. It would do better to ignore it, and treat me no different. Speculation sometimes works far better than hard evidence, for a mind is naturally curious. If one lets their curiosity enough rein as to wonder to some thing's truth, they are more likely to accept the evidence they see for themselves than that which is forced upon them." Veriea beckoned to Tbi'e and lifted him into her arms as he came to her. "If people chose to respect me," She continued. "Purely due to my actions, I will try to introduce these concepts and try to influence the idea of respect for all but I will not take responsibility for an entire race's future."

A knock sounded at one of the doors.

"Come." Ka'e'aka called.

A warrior, one which Veriea recognized to be an Honored, stepped into the room, dipping his head in acknowledgment to Ker'e'aka and Ka'e'aka.

"The High Council is assembled and waiting."

"Thank you, T're'e'cha." Ker'e'aka dismissed.

The Warrior turned to leave and Veriea noticed that he looked at her a long moment before he palmed the door shut.

So it had already started.

Veriea rose to her feet, setting Tbi'e back down.

"I suppose I shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Don't worry, Red, you'll do great." Tbi'e said, tugging on her skirt front and reaching up his arms for a hug.

"Thank you, dear heart." She said, hugging him. She turned to Ka'e'aka. "Will you watch over him?"

"Of course."

Ker'e'aka motioned for Veriea to exit first.

The walk to the Hall of Archives was a long one, if only for the strange silence that seemed to come over those that saw them. Finally, they arrived at the enormous doors that lead to Hall where all yautja history was recorded. Slowly, they opened.

As Veriea took the first steps into the great Hall, she was aware that Ker'e'aka was no longer by her side; he was not allowed to follow her onto the floor. Darkness loomed about her but did not hide from her sight the carvings, the Yautja's history, nor the ledges that were cut into the very walls; before her, the High Council's podiums, behind and above her, the stands of spectators.

The High Council was formed of the most Honored Elders and Arbitrators from each Clan and Veriea felt their scrutiny and judgment heavily, both in their sheer presence and in the wave of feeling that swept towards her as she stepped towards the center of the rounded Hall of Archives.

"Ver'ei'a'ka'cha."

The voice boomed out around the Hall, startling many who had been unprepared for the sudden intense sound, but Veriea knew that voice and let out a small breath; Thwei'a'aka would not let things get out of hand. She bowed her head in respect, as was expected of her. Thwei'a'aka, stepping forward into the light at her podium, nodded ever-so-slightly in recognition. "You have been summoned here today to decide the matter of Honor. Several Elders and Arbitrators have nominated you for this Honor, today we will decide if you are worthy of it's bestowal."

"LIES!" Someone cried from the stands, causing many to look about. Thwei'a'aka seemed to give a great sigh and she closed her eyes a moment.

"The Council recognizes I'ka'ga'ku, En'ke'a'ga." One if the other Council members announced

"That female deserves no honor! She murdered my sons!" The now visible female cried as she pushed her way to the front of the spectator's stands. Veriea turned and gaped at the female. Had she no idea what her sons had _done_? "I demand retribution!"

"She murdered no one!" Another, clearly female voice bellowed.

"The Council recognizes Chi'de'a, Kantra'a'de'a." Thwei'a'aka announced. Kantra'a'de'a moved forward also, though at a more dignified pace.

"Council, I had the terrible duty of examining the body of Arbitrator Ker'e'aka's mate and there is no way that the two males can be expunged of any guilt. Their seed and their tissue was found in evidence."

"The filthy thing does not deserve any honor!" En'ke'a'ga screeched. "She is not one of us!"

"ENOUGH!" One of the female Elders bellowed. "This proper gander is _not _what we are here to discuss. Such behavior I would not have expected from you, En'ke'a'ga. You are of scientific mind; can you not clearly see that, despite your maternal love for your sons, they were guilty of practicing bad blooded behavior, not even including the acts Ver'ei'a'ka'cha caught them at?"

"No! She framed them!"

"I know you are grief stricken with these events but how you can even begin to believe that any female could contrive to rape another female and somehow gain access to the evidence presented in this case, without willing male counterparts, is beyond me. And what about their continualharassment of Arbitrator Ker'e'aka's life mate? Has she framed them for that too?"

"Many others have witnessed their dishonor." Another Elder spoke up.

"She was only a worthless runt." En'ke'a'ga hissed and instantly several roars and snarls of protest filled the Hall, none louder or angrier than those of Ker'e'aka, Ka'e'aka and Veriea. Many others were simply outraged that she could speak so ill of the dead, when it was so obvious that her sons had blood on their hands and she should be deeply shamed to even speak on their behalf. The cacophony rose until the High Council's eldest Elder roared.

"_SILENCE!_"

The noise ceased.

The Elder stood. "It is beyond doubt in the mind of this Council as to the guilt of the two males involved in the death of Arbitrator Ker'e'aka's life mate. It is beyond doubt, in my mind, at least, that this young warrior has done a great deal for this city - and those in it who are as of yet still vulnerable to such aberrations of our society - by ridding us of two more bad bloods. I can only commend her swift dispatch of the two males and her efforts to defend one she cared about and hope to one day see her before us again to bestowed the title of Arbitrator. However, the only issue before us today is whether this Council will grant her Honor. Will the other Council members show their approval for the notion to raise this warrior to Honored status?"

One by one, the Council members either raised their hands or shook their heads. Veriea held her breath, not even daring to count for herself. The Elder raised his hands again for silence, though no one had dared speak out. He descended from the top balcony and approached her. Veriea bowed her head in respect as he did so. "You have been given Honored status." He proclaimed aloud and Veriea breathed again. "Do you have a symbol with which to be marked or do you require one?" He asked in a quiet aside to her.

"I have a symbol." She passed him a small slip of a'ta and she saw him grin as he looked at it. He motioned to a youngling in the side lines, holding a familiar black object.

"I mark you, warrior, with this symbol to call your own." The tip of the snapped kainde amedha finger burned into the skin above her right eye, then dotted above the previous symbol but just like the first time she had been marked, she made no sound or movement. He finished and wiped one finger across the fresh mark and then across her Clan mark. "Let none dispute the honor associated with this symbol and may this Warrior up hold that honor bestowed upon her."

The Elder indicated for her to turn to face the spectators and she did so, nearly overwhelmed by the roar of approval. As she searched the crowd, she saw that it was not many who did approve but their enthusiasm drowned out the others and that heartened her.

And now that she was aware and looking, she noticed that many wore grey skins.

Looking up into the stands around her, she saw those who hated her and those who loved her, in a sense of the word. It was enough. From the door way, Tbi'e rushed forward to her, leaping into her arms and hugging her fiercely. Behind him, Ker'e'aka and Ka'e'aka watched on. They hadn't doubted for a moment that she would be Honored but it was still good to have it confirmed.

Tbi'e traced her new symbol with his tiny talon tips.

The symbol she had chosen was special in that represented part of the life she had long left behind; it was a long curved line with a greater and lesser sign on either side, slightly off center so that the bottom of the line was longer. It was a simplified version of the the symbol belonging to the Fornnan Red Fox Tribe, depicting a long-tailed fox, as the Tribe had been known particularly for their longer than average tails.

She hugged Tbi'e close to her, remembering all that was lost, all that she had found.

"Let's go home, dear heart."

-End Ch17


End file.
